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Weiner Creek erosion a 'high priority' to City-Parish

7 years 6 months 2 weeks ago Thursday, May 11 2017 May 11, 2017 May 11, 2017 4:35 PM May 11, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A fix is coming for an eroding creek. Weiner Creek winds through neighborhoods and feeds into Jones Creek. A section behind Newcastle Ave. in Baton Rouge has been struggling to hold its shape.

The City-Parish says fixing the erosion problem along Weiner Creek is a "high priority."

Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso says the council has approved funds on the local level to fix this and is now waiting to hear from the Feds. The City-Parish plans to enter into a 90-10 percent funding split with the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP). The entire project, which has little details at this point, is estimated to cost about $300,000. Right now, everything hinges on how and when the Feds respond.

For 30 years, Harold Daigle has watched as the creek behind his house grows. He says it's been getting wider and wider, eating away at his backyard and his home's property value.

"It's eating away part of my backyard," said Daigle.

In addition to yards and homes being at risk, a sewer line runs along Weiner creek. When the creek fills with water, the rushing current eats away at the banks, exposing buried piping and tree roots.

A couple of days ago, Daigle says a tree that once sat firmly on his backyard, slipped seven feet into the creek. It's still standing upright, but the ground around it has all sunk along with the tree. All around him, trees are at risk of falling over. Their roots are exposed as the dirt around them has washed away.

"If it keeps going it'll all fall in and someone's going to have to remove them," he said.

Safety barriers placed at the top of the creek have fallen in. The land they once stood on is now missing. Daigle says many people used to fish in the creek, but now it's too dangerous.

"Somebody could get hurt back here," he said.

Amoroso says work is expected to be done in the near future to stabilize the area, prior to the actual project beginning.

"The City-Parish is taking this extremely seriously," said Amoroso.


    

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