GONZALES - A major dredging project designed to help stop what happened during the flood of 2016 is finally making headway in Ascension Parish, but residents are not yet convinced it will make a difference.

Raymond Brubaker owns a home in Gonzales, and since the flood in 2016, he says several inches of rainwater still collect in his front yard.

"When we get too much rain, you're more worried about it getting underneath the house," he said.

When that happens, Brubaker says he has to physically remove the water from under his house, or else mildew and mold will set in.

"I got to pump it out. Get the sewage pumps and pump it out, drain pumps," Brubaker explained. "It's back-breaking."

Just a block away from Brubaker's house is the dredging project in New River Bayou. Heavy machinery is dredging and removing soot that has built up for years — the same blockages responsible for some of the area's flooding in 2016.

The current dredging operation is a $5 million project that began earlier this year.

Even though Brubaker says the dredging should help, he won't know for sure until the work is done. The homeowner will have to wait until next year to see the completed project's impact.