Flood: Cities On Louisiana Coast, Mississippi River Hoping On Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Package

When Hurricane Ida hit last summer, a storm surge overwhelmed a levee and gushed into Ted Falgout’s coastal Louisiana home, destroying his furniture and the beloved framed photos.

“That water was probably 60% mud,” said Falgout, who’s hoping relief is on the way for his community in Larose, about 30 miles southwest of New Orleans.

As climate change makes hurricanes stronger and wetter and increases storm surges, cities on the Louisiana coast and Mississippi River are hoping President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package will provide badly needed funding to fortify locks, levees and other flood protections.

But community groups and advocates fear smaller cities will struggle to navigate the maze of government programs and miss out on the rare chance to protect against rising waters and heavy rains.

“I think the agencies are still figuring a lot of this out,” said Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, which advocates for communities along the river.

While many swaths of the country are at risk for flooding, the Louisiana coast has long been especially vulnerable and the Upper Mississippi is part of a region where flood severity is increasing faster than in any other area of the country.

La Crosse, Wisconsin is among the cities trying to figure out how to benefit as infrastructure funds start rolling out.

The city’s levees were built after devastating flooding in 1965 and don’t meet federal standards that would help lower insurance rates and make it easier for residents to fix up their homes without having to spend more to protect against floods, said Brad Woznak of SEH, a flood planning consultant for the city.

Upgrading the levees would be so expensive it’s hard for the city to know how to get started, he said.

“But with this potential infrastructure bill funding, that’s what I keep telling them — don’t rule anything out yet,” Woznak said, noting that it could be a chance to pay for an initial evaluation for the project.