Enhancing Flood Resilience along the Ouachita River

EPA partnered with the Ouachita Parish Police Jury in Louisiana to explore ways to enhance community resiliency in the face of historic flooding along the Ouachita River. 

Agency researchers worked with the Parish and local community stakeholders to apply a Structure Decision Making (SDM) approach that helped them consider a suite of data—social, economic, and environmental—for addressing complex decisions. The goal was to provide a detailed analysis of trade-offs among multiple benefits provided by the local ecosystem ("ecosystem goods and services") for stakeholders to consider for flood risk reduction on the Ouachita River. 

The project results were published in  A Deeper Look at the Ouachita River, How investment in Ouachita River infrastructure sustains human well-being in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, a report that now serves as a planning roadmap for flood resilience and a decision-making guide for federal, state and local officials.

The report provides information and guidance on increasing community flood resilience for the unincorporated areas of Ouachita Parish, Monroe and West Monroe, La. It is based on the sustainability of the Ouachita River ecosystem. The research by federal, state and local jurisdictions aims to further preparedness efforts and help communities become more resilient. In 2018, EPA conducted two in-person workshops with community members and later held an online webinar to discuss analysis and results, before finalizing the report. 

Key highlights of the report include:

• Flood control strategies on the Ouachita River should include stakeholder engagement, increase public understanding of flood control effects on important ecosystem services, and better integrate flood control options into the strategic planning processes  
• Resilience plans should account for fundamental community objectives regarding important ecosystem goods and services
• Services interact with infrastructure to support community well-being

Success of this project will emphasize the effectiveness of the SDM approach and how it can be used in other communities across the country for ecosystem benefit analysis.

Read the EPA Region 6 Press Release: EPA, Ouachita Parish and others release flood resilience study 

For access to the report, please see: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=350855&Lab=CEMM.

Read the Ouachita River Study Fact Sheets.