LWI Region 3 Modeling Overview

1 Region 3 Description

For the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, WSP performed hydrologic and hydraulic studies in modeling Region 3. Within Louisiana, this Region is bounded by the Mississippi River mainstem levee to the east, the Ouachita River to the west, the Red River levee to the south, and the Arkansas State border to the north. The Region includes four watersheds—Boeuf River, Bayou Cocodrie, Tensas River, and Bayou Macon (Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-2).

Although no longer a part of the Mississippi River floodplain, the topography of this Region still exhibits its characteristics, such as previous meander belts of the Mississippi River, oxbow lakes, geologic scarring, and alluvial features like natural levees. The Region is mostly flat, with low lying areas and interconnected streams, bayous, and canals. Backwater from the Ouachita River greatly influences water surface levels in the Boeuf River and Tensas River Watersheds. Bayou Cocodrie Watershed, which is bound by levees on all sides, acts like a bowl with minimal natural drainage. The Tensas Cocodrie Pump Station is the only outflow from the basin. As a result, frequent, widespread, and unconfined flooding characterize Region 3. Most of the Region is rural, with vast agricultural lands and wildlife refuges. The City of Monroe, located in the Ouachita Parish in the Boeuf River Watershed, is the largest population center in the Region Ouachita Parish suffered major flooding in March 2016, leading the Department of Housing and Urban Development to identify it as a “most impacted and distressed” area.

Figure 1-2: LWI Region 3 relative to the Ouachita River basin.

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LWI REGION 3 TRAINING

LOUISIANA WATERSHED INITIATIVE