General DNR News

Hopedale Hydrologic Restoration (PO-24) Project Profile

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Location: Located southeast of Yscloskey in St. Bernard Parish
Cost: $2.4 million
Date: Start: Jan. 2000 Complete: Nov. 2004
Type: Hydrologic Restoration Project
Sponsors: DNR and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
Summary: This project will abate site-specific wetland loss by replacing collapsed culverts installed in 1950 near Yscloskey. The degraded water control structures prevent the drainage of high tides and storm water runoff, resulting in impounded water on the marsh. The project features that were constructed include three, six foot light weight flap gates that allow water to exit the project area inside the project feature. The project features also include two, two foot by seven foot “fish gates” that allow marine organisms to move in and out of the project area.
What's ahead: DNR, NMFS and St. Bernard Parish will operate and maintain the project structure for 20 years. DNR and NMFS project staff will monitor the effectiveness of the project in achieving its goals in the project area for 20 years. In addition to the CWPPRA Hopedale project, St. Bernard Parish, through a FEMA grant, will install water control gates at four existing locations along Highway 624, which is the southern boundary of the project area.
Project Team: Clark Allen and John Hodnett, DNR Project Engineers; Michael Sealy, Donald Rodrigue and John Troutman, DNR Monitoring Managers; Greg Grandy, DNR Project Manager; Thomas Bernard, DNR Construction Engineer; Van Cook, DNR O&M Engineer; Joyce Montgomery, DNR Land Specialist; Rachel Sweeney, NOAA NMFS Project Manager; Brown Cunningham Gannuch, Inc., Consulting Engineers; Gill’s Crane & Dozer Service, Inc., Construction Contractor; and Hydro Consultants, Inc., Construction Inspection Services.
 
Department of Natural Resources, National Marine Fisheries Services, and St. Bernard Parish representatives participated in a recent dedication ceremony of the Hopedale marsh project on January 6, 2005.
 
A view of the new water-control structure in Hopedale that is expected to preserve marsh in the southeastern region of our coast.
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