PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Master Plan has been developed to provide guidance to the District as it attempts to manage Bayou Lafourche for the many users, customers, residents, and businesses along the bayou.
The District has seen a tremendous change in the needs along the bayou. There has been an increased demand for the freshwater along the bayou, as well as increased demand to use the bayou to restore the coast. The customer base is changing with the growth of Port Fourchon and the increased population in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes. At the same time, the District has seen additional demands of the bayou for recreation and tourism. The District is trying to meet all of these needs and recognizes that a well thought out, long range, Master Plan is necessary.
The District began this plan in order to meet the changing needs along Bayou Lafourche. The plan’s primary mandate is to provide freshwater to the customers along the bayou. The District is a legislatively created sub-district which includes all or part of Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche Parishes. In addition to those communities, the District also serves Terrebonne Parish on a contractual basis, a community of over 100,000 people.
The Board has pursued a two step process to develop this plan. The first step was a Bayou Lafourche Summit in October, 2011. The Summit brought together over 200 customers, partners, citizens, elected officials, and other persons interested in the future of the bayou. This event was held at Nicholls State University, in Thibodaux, and resulted in over 200 recommendations for the improvement of the bayou.
The Board then held its own Retreat to review the results of the Summit and to refine those recommendations into a Master Plan for the District. At the Retreat, the Board reviewed the results of the Summit. The board amended some recommendations, added new ones, and suggested priorities among the recommendations. The Master Plan is the result of those discussions .
PROJECT FILES