Final Corps Permit Approved to Advance the Bayou Lafourche Mississippi River Re-Introduction and Pumping Capacity Improvement Project in Donaldsonville

Press Release

Cutting off Bayou Lafourche from the Mississippi River in 1903 has cost us millions to fix. Recently, a modernized pump station at the top of Bayou Lafourche received the final U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) permit to advance the Bayou Lafourche Mississippi River Re-Introduction and Pumping Capacity Improvement Project in Donaldsonville. This project is a top priority of the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District.

This final permit is a key component to completing the regional approach to reviving Bayou Lafourche. The residents have been ready for this development and it adds onto our successful infrastructure fixes in the area -- the dredging near Donaldsonville, the removal of the Thibodaux weir, or the saltwater gate near Lockport. All of these efforts build a stronger south Louisiana.

By increasing the capacity of the Mississippi River entering the bayou, the high flows will counter saltwater intrusion on the coast -- countering coastal erosion -- and improve water quality for residents of Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and Ascension parishes.

Bayou Lafourche serves as a main water source in the area for residents of Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and Ascension parishes and provides water for agriculture and industry in the region. The restoration project will reconnect the Mississippi River into Bayou Lafourche, which then leads into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), and Grand Bayou. It will help restore parts of the Bayou Region's land loss and improve water quality.

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