Algiers will Vote on 6.35 mill Renewal; West Jefferson will Vote on 5.5 mill Increase for Operations, Maintenance, Repairs, Rehabilitation and Replacement of Levees and Structures

 MARRERO, La. – Sept. 8, 2015 – Voters in Algiers and West Jefferson will make critical decisions about the future of hurricane protection this November as they cast ballots on two millage propositions.

Algiers voters will determine the fate of a proposition to renew 6.35 mills for 30 years to generate funds to maintain the recently completed hurricane protection system. If approved, these funds will be used on flood protection, which is crucial to maintaining flood insurance.

 In West Jefferson, voters will decide whether to raise 5.5 mills for 30 years to maintain the newly improved hurricane protection system in the most heavily populated areas of the West Bank that will also be needed to maintain flood insurance.

 Now that the system is complete, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – West (SLFPA-W) is responsible for operating and maintaining the greatly improved and vastly expanded system.

 “Prior to Katrina, most of the West Bank did not even have levees to fail if the storm had come in a more direct path towards us,” said SLFPA-W President Susan H. Maclay. “The $4 billion investment in creating new levees and flood control structures has literally given us a wall of protection that never existed. There is no comparison between the new system and anything before it in history.”

 

 

The ‘crown jewel’ of the new system is the $1.1 billion West Closure Complex. It features the largest pumping station in the world and the largest sector gate in North America.

 Maclay said it is critically important for voters to be educated about the proposed measures. SLFPA-W has reached out to neighborhood associations and community organizations, as well as to the news media and government groups. As of early September, more than a dozen local organizations have viewed presentations and asked SLFPA-W representatives questions about how these improvements would affect their homes and businesses, including those dealing with flood insurance.

 Interested citizens will have opportunities to attend meetings between now and Nov. 21, including tours of the West Closure Complex in October. Information regarding presentations can be obtained at the SLFPA-W website www.neworleanshosting.com/levee.

 About the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – West (SLFPA-W)

The mission of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – West is to protect the citizens and businesses of the West Bank of the greater New Orleans area in Jefferson and Orleans Parishes from hurricanes and riverine flooding by inspecting, operating and maintaining the integrity of our levees, floodwalls and floodgates. It is composed of two levee districts: the West Jefferson Levee District in Jefferson Parish and the Algiers Levee District in Orleans Parish. The Authority has jurisdiction over 80 miles of levees in the most populated areas of the West Bank of Jefferson Parish and in all of Orleans Parish on the West Bank, including 47 miles of levees that are part of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) and 33 miles of Mississippi River levees. Since 2006, all of the Authority’s levees and floodwalls have been improved for the protection of residents in south Louisiana. For more information, visit www.neworleanshosting.com/levee.