By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – While Slidell and St. Tammany officials have been content to allow the dispute on the responsibility for cleaning the W-14 canal to languish for years, a new concern could turn into a multi-million dollar problem if action is not taken sometime soon.
Slidell homeowner James Shaffette recently filed a lawsuit against the city and parish trying to get an answer to the problem of severe erosion at his property located at 1064 Michigan Ave.
The erosion is occurring on the interior banks of the W-14 canal that runs from north to south in the middle of Slidell where Shaffette’s home backs up to the canal, as do many other homes heading south.
After a construction project four years ago near Florida Avenue, approximately 200 yards to the north of Shaffette’s home, the Slidell man began noticing erosion on the banks of the W-14. Over the past four years the erosion has caused huge pine and oak trees to lean dramatically towards the home, while the dirt on the side of the home has dropped almost five feet lower as it heads towards the canal.
Inside his home there are growing cracks on many walls and the concrete flooring, as well as increasing cracks in the concrete foundation. One neighbor to the south of Shaffette displayed cracks in his garage floor, along with his fence that is separating.
City and parish officials refuse to comment on the situation now, citing the pending litigation, but both acknowledge they have “continued to meet” for years to discuss the problem. Off the record, several are now suggesting they are happy about the lawsuit since “it might finally settle the issue of who is responsible for the canal” since neither party has ever pressed the matter enough to get it solved.
While the canal was initially the responsibility of the parish, Slidell city officials began cleaning it out many years ago, leading some parish officials to now claim the city is responsible for it.
Due to the dispute, it has been over a year-and-a-half since the canal has been cleaned out.
One engineer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the city or parish would do well to fix the problem now since it could become a huge disaster if not addressed.
“It would probably not cost much more than $150,000 to fix the problem and if they split it, that wouldn’t be too much money,” he said. “But the real problem is if they continue to leave this alone since the one house could actually fall into the canal and block it up. Then what if you had a big storm or heavy rains? The entire north half of Slidell might flood since none of the water could get out the W-14.”
Additionally, the erosion problem appears to be lengthening further south in the canal with more than one homeowner citing problems. While the current liability has to do with Shaffette’s home alone, that number could grow if the issue is not dealt with soon.
“This might be a $200,000 problem now, but if it’s not fixed it might end up being a $20 million problem,” another engineer said.
Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan recently said at a City Council meeting that U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise is working on funding for drainage improvements for the city that could include a pumping station to draw the water out of the W-14, however, that kind of federal funding could take years to approve.