[StBernard] Landrieu and Mayor Harris Announce $250, 000 Gretna Floodplain Mapping System

[Westley Annis]

Landrieu and Mayor Harris Announce $250,000 Gretna Floodplain Mapping System
System will help protect the community from future storms.

 

WASHINGTON - United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and Gretna Mayor
Ronnie Harris today announced a project Sen. Landrieu secured that will fund
a floodplain mapping system for the city. The system has been one of Mayor
Harris' key priorities for Gretna.

"The lesson from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the devastating failure of
the federal levees is we need to be smart about hurricane and flood
protection moving forward," Sen. Landrieu said. "I have been working with
Mayor Harris to make sure Gretna is fully prepared the next time a disaster
strikes, be it natural or manmade. The new floodplain mapping system for
Gretna is the kind forward-thinking strategy we need to protect our
communities."

"I'm happy to report that with this funding that Senator Landrieu has
secured we will begin the process of documenting our 3.5-square-mile city,"
Mayor Harris said. "With this computerized GIS system, and in combination
with Jefferson Parish, we will implement an emergency notification network
so that we can contact our residents and businesses about emergency
situations. The system will overlap our water billing information with our
tax information to become a focus point for all the different departments in
the city. It will combine this information so we can make better decisions
in the future. I am thrilled that we are getting some assistance from the
federal government in a progressive way rather than a reactive way."

 

Sen. Landrieu included funding for the $250,000 project in the Fiscal 2008
Omnibus Appropriations bill that was signed into law by the President last
December. It will fund Gretna's Geographic Information System (GIS) for
flood plain management that includes floodplain delineation, emergency
evacuation route mapping, critical needs facilities, transportation and
utilities.  

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