In Pointe Coupee Parish, Bayou Grosse Tete is the cleanest it’s been in decades.

On a tour of the bayou in November, the operations manager for the parish’s multimillion-dollar drainage improvement project maneuvered a mud boat through the shallow water of the bayou, pointing out the banks now cleared of obstructions like trees and storm debris.

Maintenance on this waterway and Bayou Cholpe is expected to improve drainage for two-thirds of the parish, which, thanks to the proximity of the Atchafalaya Basin and the Mississippi River, is prone to flooding, Parish President Major Thibaut said.

“We’re surrounded by levees,” Thibaut said. “Our drainage system has to work.”

Pointe Coupee Parish relies on the canals for drainage after significant rain events and day-to-day water level fluctua

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