A truly cooperative endeavor results in solution to Conway Subdivision drainage problem

On Tuesday East Ascension Drainage Commission approved two Cooperative Endeavor Agreements (CEA) intended to resolve ongoing drainage issues in Conway Subdivision and surrounding acreage, and a cooperative endeavor it has been.  Parish officials coordinating with the City of Gonzales, heeding residents’ concerns and negotiating a fair deal with a willing developer…this is how government is supposed to work.  It culminated in a CEA between EA Drainage and Conway Development, LLC aimed at construction of a pumping station, and a second to acquire eight acres upon which to build it.

Intra-subdivision roads are routinely inundated by rain events…

a product of flawed design approved by Ascension’s parish engineer in 2015.  With multiple development phases yet to be approved, much less constructed, a solution had to be found (not to mention that residents should not have to encounter persistent street flooding).

• The operative CEA outlines the agreement between EACGDD No. 1 and Conway Development, LLC to improve drainage South of Interstate 10, north of Panama Canal in Gonzales, LA.
• The improvements will utilize a gravity drainage system as well as a regional pump station to help improve drainage in the area and reduce chances of flooding.
• EACGDD No. 1 will do various constructions, operations, and works as further set out in the CEA in exchange for donation of property, one time contribution, and other works by Conway Development, LLC as set out in the CEA.

Conway Subdivision, inside Gonzales, makes up 43% of the acreage benefitted by the project.  Conway Development, LLC has undertaken significant obligation toward those improvements.

1. Construct all regional detention ponds along Interstate 10s shown on the Reserve at Conway – Phase III Plat, area within Tract X-10.
2. Issue a one-time contribution of $1,000,000 (One-Million Dollars) to the District for the construction of the regional pump station.
3. Provide 3-60″ aluminum pipes and flap gates discharging into Panama Canal.
4. Donate the property surrounding the below-referenced regional detention ponds along Interstate 10 to the District.
5. Donate the property within the Hackett Canal drainage servitude within the Conway Subdivision to the District.
6. Excavate all materials needed to construct the regional detention ponds and install all needed erosion control measures.
7. Install all control structures for the regional detention ponds.
8. Revise the drainage design for the remaining phases of Conway Subdivision as needed to facilitate positive drainage flow towards Hackett Canal.
9. Design and install internal pipes to accommodate drainage design changes.
10. Provide the District with an updated Drainage Impact Study for Conway Development, LLC property for their review and approval.

The pumping station will be constructed south of Brittany Tower Road (Hwy 941) in the unincorporated area within Councilman Oliver Joseph’s District 1.  Conway Subdivision lies within Councilman Robert’s District 2.  They sponsored Tuesday’s agenda items along with President Clint Cointment.

Considering the initial corrective action proposed a mechanical pumping station in the subdivision’s detention ponds, it was an unlikely achievement.

Since the city relies on East Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1’s professional expertise in such matters, Ascension Parish Government’s drainage professionals had to sign off of the pumping system idea.  EA Drainage also had to waive the strictures found in Ascension’s Unified Land Development Code 17-508 that prohibit “the use of mechanical systems for discharging flow from detention ponds.”

In November 2022 that waiver was okayed by EA Drainage but conditioned upon Conway’s Homeowners Association accepting responsibility for future maintenance and operation of the pumping system.  Additionally, the drainage board required the City of Gonzales to backstop the HoA if/when it failed to meet those responsibilities.

Justifiably concerned, a group of Conway residents reached out to their Parish Council representative, Joel Robert, and his Gonzales counterpart, Councilman Tim Riley.  Ron O’Rourke and Glen Ourso (pictured above, second and third from right) were among that group of residents meeting with Robert and Riley at the end of 2022.  They joined dozens of their fellow Conway residents in opposition to that agreement, first at Gonzales Planning Commission meetings, and subsequently the City Council.

Against seemingly insurmountable odds, they were able to successfully fight City Hall even as Gonzales’ former mayor (Barney Arceneaux resigned effective April 30) and his administration continued to endorse the pumping station solution.  Councilman Riley, alone among Gonzales’ elected officialdom, supported the effort resulting in an April 2023 meeting at Conway Subdivision’s pavilion where President Cointment took up the cause.

Cointment addressed EA Drainage on May 9, 2023, asserting that Conway Development had failed to meet certain conditions precedent entitling it to the waiver of ULDC 17-508.  The detention pond pumping station idea was dead, with a commitment from Cointment’s administration to find a more palatable solution.  And here we are.

EA Drainage Commission’s unanimous approval of the subject CEA assumes the following obligations (see Conway Development’s above):A

1. Construct and operate a regional pump station along the Panama Canal near Hackett Canal.
2. Purchase the necessary property on the south side of LA 941 to construct the regional pump station, detention pond, and enlarge Hackett Canal.
3. Provide and operate temporary pumps along Panama Canal as deemed necessary to reduce the water surface within the watershed during the regional pump station permitting and construction.
4. Perform a regional drainage study, design the pump station, and obtain the necessary permits.
5. Obtain permission from Ascension Parish School Board to enlarge Hackett Canal as needed from Conway Subdivision to LA 941.
6. Enlarge Hackett Canal between Conway Subdivision and the regional pump station.
7. Change the pipe under LA 941 to 3-60″ RCP.
8. Accept the donation of property within the Hackett Canal drainage servitude and surrounding the regional detention ponds along Interstate 10 shown on the Reserve at Conway – Phase III Plat, area within Tract X-10.
9. Install the 3-60″ aluminum pipes and flap gates discharging into Panama Canal.
10. In a timely manner, approve a Drainage Impact Study adhering to this concept for all constructed and proposed improvements of the Conway Development, LLC property.  Once approved, construction of all proposed improvements within the Conway Development, LLC property under Parish Jurisdiction is authorized.

 

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