Mandeville officials worried about major flooding potential

During Hurricane Katrina, Lake Pontchartrain rose 14 feet above sea level and flooded most of coastal St. Tammany, including Slidell and Mandeville. Now, with the threat of Gustav making landfall somewhere west of the Lake, a double-digit tidal surge is projected again.

Only this time, being on the "wet" side of the storm, officials are worried the possible torrents of rainfall will compound the possibility of flooding.

"We'€™re on the bad side," Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price said at a City Council meeting Thursday night, clearly shaken by the possibility of water covering his city once again. "We'€™re monitoring it. We'€™re getting sandbags done, we'€™ve got gas, we'€™ve got pumps in Woodstone, we'€™re on the ground and we'€™re running."

Woodstone subdivision in western Mandeville has been a problem child for city officials with flooding ever since its creation many years ago, Price said. The neighborhood, positioned across some of the lowest lying land in the city, has a special drainage system that pumps water out versus the gravity-fed system the rest of the city uses, Price said.

Preparing for the storm, crews made temporary upgrades to the pumps, enabling a greater amount of water to be pumped out, but officials worry if tide levels rise to projected heights, there will be no where for the water to go.

Crews have also cleared debris from drains and ditches in other areas of the city, Price said.

He also said crews working on the U.S. Highway 190 project would anchor construction equipment to the ground and remove other items like cones from the road before any storms make landfall.

The city also has numerous generators ready to be distributed to Mandeville residents if the need arises.

Price said generators will only be loaned out after the storm, and residents should contact City Hall at 626-3144 after the storm for more information.