Flood protection for parish gets big boost

$3.75 million supports projects for St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana has received $3.75 million in federal funding for two major flood protection projects - the Lake Pontchartrain Storm Surge Reduction Project and the St. Tammany Coastal Storm and Flood Risk Management Project. This is the largest single flood reduction initiative in Louisiana history and will fund engineering and design work for the projects, which are part of a larger $5.9 billion plan approved by Congress to protect the region from future hurricane damage.

Why it matters

The funding is a significant step forward in the slow-moving effort to improve flood protection for St. Tammany Parish and the broader Southeast Louisiana region, which has been vulnerable to devastating hurricane damage since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The projects aim to construct new levees, elevate homes, and enhance drainage systems to protect the community from future flooding events.

The details

The $3.75 million in funding will be split between the two projects - $3.25 million for the St. Tammany Coastal Storm and Flood Risk Management Project and $500,000 for the Lake Pontchartrain Storm Surge Reduction Project, also known as the Lake Pontchartrain Barrier Project. This initial funding will be used for engineering and design work to determine the placement of protections, simulate hurricane impacts, and examine effects on local wetlands and fisheries. While the overall $5.9 billion in funding has been approved by Congress, the actual construction of the projects still requires further approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

  • The $3.75 million in funding was granted last week.
  • The overall $5.9 billion in funding for the projects was allocated by Congress after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The players

St. Tammany Levee District

The local agency leading the effort to create levees, barriers, and other flood protection measures for St. Tammany Parish.

St. Tammany Parish Government

The local government body supporting the St. Tammany Levee District's flood protection initiatives.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The federal agency responsible for approving the final plans and designs for the flood protection projects.

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA)

The state agency that must also approve the final plans and designs for the flood protection projects.

Mike Cooper

The St. Tammany Parish President, who stated the projects will have 'life-changing impacts' for parish residents.

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What they’re saying

“This is very exciting. We managed to get this done in two years and now it will be a matter of the key players—the Corps, CPRA and the Levee Board—to come to an agreement on the final plan and then get the federal dollars approved for the project.”

— Suzanne Krieger, St. Tammany Levee District Chairman (Slidell Independent)

“These two projects will have life-changing impacts for St. Tammany families for generations to come. Once completed, these projects are predicted to save our community billions of dollars in damage from flooding events.”

— Mike Cooper, St. Tammany Parish President (Slidell Independent)

What’s next

The next key decisions will be finalizing the project plans and designs with approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, before the larger $5.9 billion in federal construction funding can be accessed.

The takeaway

This significant funding boost represents major progress in the long-running effort to improve flood protection for St. Tammany Parish and the broader Southeast Louisiana region, which has been vulnerable to devastating hurricane damage since Hurricane Katrina. While construction is still years away, this initial investment lays the groundwork for critical flood mitigation projects that could save the community billions in future storm damage.