Page 14 - Louisiana 811 Magazine 2022 Issue 3

By Michael Downes 811 Magazines
Joining the Cause
Drainage District Finds 811 Membership Invaluable
Drainage is particularly important to residents
living in and around Denham Springs. A culvert breached by directional boring or
ditch infrastructure damaged by utility trenching or placement of a fence within the drainage servitude could mean flooding at homes and businesses in a huge area.
But a local drainage district has taken the initiative to join Louisiana One Call to help prevent drainage facilities from being damaged or blocked before it occurs.
Since 2002, Wesley has worked just about every job at Livingston Parish Gravity Drainage District #1. He started as a general laborer, then moved
into operator and foreman positions. He’s seen all sorts of damage in his time, but until recently any damages were discovered far after the fact and tracking down the responsible party was difficult — if not impossible.
Wesley, now the manager of the Drainage District, reached out to
Brent Saltzman, executive director at Louisiana One Call to see if a drainage district could benefit from membership.
“I thought, ‘when I put new services in, I have to call 811. Why not locate culverts, too?’ So, I talked to Mr. Brent and he said, ‘let’s see what we can do,’” Wesley said.
The Drainage District is responsible for the maintenance of canals, laterals, and ditches which have legal servitude within its boundaries. The Drainage District includes about 300 miles of ditches and canals, plus numerous neighborhood culverts. Wesley and his crews cut, clean, weed eat and maintain the infrastructure to make sure everything flows as it should to reduce flooding.
As new subdivisions are added to the Drainage District, contractors build the culverts and canals in the early stages of development, and that infrastructure
is later turned over to Drainage District control. But in the meantime, damages could occur that nobody knew about.
“We run a camera through the culverts and if we find a hole we fix it,” Wesley said. “We were finding damage by boring machines in a subdivision
that’s been out here 20 years and there was a lot of damage. And we see new subdivisions where dozers have cracked the culverts — and I thought they should fix it instead of the taxpayers.”
Soon after, Livingston Parish Gravity Drainage District #1 became the only active Louisiana One Call member of its type. That was a year and a half ago, and Wesley said being a member has helped even more than he thought it would.
Now when utility contractors are working in the area Wesley is notified and has a chance to mark drainage servitudes with open ditches and culverts or give an all-clear response before work begins.
12 • Louisiana 811 2022, Issue 3
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