Will we have to experience two more major floods before we take action?

Dredge the Vermilion

Much like the August 2016 flood, the Vermilion experienced three MAJOR floods in the 1940s.  As a result, some major projects were executed in the ’50s including dredging the Vermilion and the building the gates at Bayou Courtableau. These actions effectively protected our homes and communities for almost 65 years! 

We had NO additional major floods for 65 years UNTIL the flood of 2016.

august 2016 flooding

government expenses

Watch a Message About Our Campaigns

Homes Significantly Damaged

Louisiana FEMA Flood Insurance, Grants, and Loans Payouts

 Recap of the Flood of August 2016

• Teche-Vermilion Watershed had approximately 10,375+ Homes Flooded

• Louisiana had 84,900+ Homes Flooded

• Numerous Businesses either Flooded or Adversely Impacted

• Louisiana FEMA Flood Insurance, Grants, and Loans Payouts = $4.259 Billion

• Has lead to revised Flood Maps that will increase Flood Insurance Rates

Why are we flooding?

Learn about the various factors that impact our flood conditions. 

Our project recommendations

Learn about actionable solutions proposed to reduce catastrophic flooding within Acadiana and the surrounding areas.

Take action now!

Ready to take action to protect our homes and businesses from catastrophic flooding?

Find out how you can make a difference!

We must have a sense of urgency

to resolve these problems!

If the Vermilion River was a heart attack patient, the doctor would be surprised it’s still alive!

This is the river at Perry, South of Abbeville. The authorized channel is colored in white. Shoals and shallows are in pink. You can see that the water is flowing as intended, and following our theme, you could say that this were the ideal heart patient. The doctor would give them a good bill of health.

This is the River at Milton. You can see that the authorized channel colored in white is much narrower and the shoals in pink are much more intensive. 

If the river were a heart patient and the channel was his arteries, the doctor would be concerned with the blockage.

This is the river at Lafayette. You can see that the authorized channel colored in white is non-existent. The shoals in pink are completely blocking the river, acting like a dam.

Again, if the river was a heart patient and the channel was his arteries, the doctor would be surprised he was still alive with 100% blockage in his widow maker!

 

This is the River’s frequency of 12′ or greater flood events since January 1 2019. Note that we only had 11 of these floods between 1940 and 1980. This is the equivalent to the patient’s electrocardiogram history of heart attacks.

As you can see from the data available, we are experiencing a significant increase of flooding events, join us in our mission to reduce catastrophic flooding within Acadiana and the surrounding areas by educating yourself and those you know, and by donating today to help us to continue our work.

Latest News

Dredge the Vermilion meets with LWI head and staff in Baton Rouge

On Oct 21 2019 Dredge the Vermilion Inc. and representatives from St. Landry Parish and Amite River Basin Commission met with LWI head Mr. Pat Forbes and a number of his staff as well as staff from other state of Louisiana governmental departments such as DOTD and...

Vermilion – Coulee Inflow Analysis

The source of this data is  from a USGS survey of the river and all the connecting bayous and coulees. Below is my graph of cumulative inflow channels sizes vs. the river channel size at nearest point using this data. Note the river channel would be diminished with...

Give Today

Do your part to ensure a better future for Acadiana by giving what you can today. Whether it’s your time or your money, every little bit counts as we fight to prevent future catastrophic flooding!

Get In Touch