Moss Bluff drainage ditch proves to be effective

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - The heavy rain over the weekend put a controversial 4 million dollar drainage project known as the Belfield Ditch, to the test.

Residents were skeptical at first but the Belfield Ditch quickly proved useful to residents. The ditch increases the amount of rain water that can flow out of neighborhoods with heavy flooding.

Richard Spence, a current Moss Bluff resident, says he’s seen great improvement.

“It helps a lot,” Spence said.

Gravity Drainage District 8 Ward 1 Assistant Superintendent, Mike Naquin, says it reduces the number of houses that flood north of ditch due to heavy rain.

“There’s a lot of houses that got six inches maybe one inch and it’ll take that water, so their houses won’t flood anymore," Naquin said.

The project took years to complete, officially ending May 6th when the board accepted it.

“With five to six inch rainfall I would have almost a foot of water in my house," Spence said. "Now we can have the five to six inches of rain and I don’t worry as much cause I know it’s not going to flood.”

Spence says the ditch water used to sit stagnant. Now it all flows into the ditch.

Naquin says all that needs to be touched up is aesthetic items that do not affect the functionality of the ditch.

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