Livingston leaders feared Ascension's new levee would flood them. Here's how they worked it out

The Livingston Parish president has agreed to end a lawsuit blocking a major levee extension project in Ascension Parish that residents in Port Vincent and other low-lying Livingston communities feared would flood them.

The Laurel Ridge levee proposal, sought by generations of leaders in Ascension, would significantly reduce flood levels in the lower eastern side of the parish during major floods along the Amite River. But the idea caused tension between the two parishes as local leaders responded to the devastating floods of 2016.

The $24 million joint proposal by Ascension's eastern drainage district and the Pontchartrain Levee District would close a gap in the parish's existing, self-funded eastern levee system along the Amite River, protecting St. Amant and parts of Sorrento, Acy and the Galvez area.

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