Did Southside High worsen Youngsville flooding?

Last week, the Lafayette Parish School System released a drone video of the Southside High construction site in Youngsville.

Taken Aug. 14, after nearly 30 hours of constant rain, the video showed a site that was soggy and filled with puddles. But all things considered, it didn’t look as inundated as some might have feared..

Meanwhile, not too far away, residents of the Highland Ridge subdivision were gutting their homes, some of which took on nearly two feet of water during the flooding event.

The situation prompted some questions about whether the Southside High construction made the flooding worse in Highland Ridge and other Youngsville neighborhoods.

City and school system officials say historic flooding in those Youngsville neighborhoods is not related  to the construction site .

“The question is, would this have happened if this school was not being built. My answer is that, it would have,” said Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter.

“It was such a historic event of such a huge magnitude, that I think we still would have seen flooding happening,” Ritter continued. “I’m not of the opinion that the school construction contributed to the rising water in the neighborhood.”

At least one resident of Highland Ridge said on Facebook that they became concerned about two weeks before the flooding when it was raining and water appeared to be pouring from the construction site, down the street and into the neighborhood.

In an email response to questions from The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette Parish School System officials said they were not aware of any problems at the site.

“The Lafayette Parish School System and its design and construction teams, the firms of Abell, Crozier and Davis, Pfluger and The Lemoine Company have not been notified at any point during the construction of any increased flooding or drainage concerns,” district officials wrote.

The school system maintained there is no possibility Southside made the flooding situation worse for Youngsville residents.

“The construction did not exacerbate the flooding of homes in Youngsville,” district officials said in an email.

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Ritter said understands why the Southside questions have come up, and appreciates the feedback from residents.

“I just try to keep the discussion in context,” Ritter said. “It was a historic rain event, and one where we had nearly 28 inches of rain in 30 hours.”

Kimberly Moore, a Highland Ridge resident, said she doesn’t completely blame the Southside construction for the flooding of her home and neighborhood. She thinks other causes included the design of the subdivision – with some homes at a higher elevation than others – and pre-existing drainage problems.

“We believe it was a contributing factor, but I think most of all, it was a perfect storm,” Moore said.

Last week, near-daily rain showers led to re-flooding of some Highland Ridge streets and yards within less than 30 minutes. That led to new concerns about the Southside project, but officials said it was not a factor.

“Many of the streets in Lafayette Parish are still seeing water accumulation after even the smallest of storms,” the district said. “All the major drainage ways and basins are completely inundated with water. There is simply no place for the water to go.”

Ritter agreed, saying new rainwater isn’t being absorbed at a normal pace because of the historic flooding and subsequent showers.

In the long run, though, the completed Southside High actually is expected to improve drainage in the surrounding area.

“The drainage system for Southside High is designed to remove multiple acres of run-off from the South Larriviere roadway and route that water into our retaining basins on site,” the district said. “The installation of the on-site drainage system is in the process of being installed per the construction schedule. The drainage capacity at the site exceeds the design requirements.”

Ritter said he is looking forward to the drainage improvements the school will provide. Southside is slated to open in August 2017.

“I think the benefit is going to be tremendous for that area, once the water from that 50 acres stays contained on that property,” Ritter said. “Long term, we’re very excited about all the benefits the school is going to have for Youngsville.”