Virtual Tour

St. Charles Parish Courthouse

• Council Chambers
• Courtrooms
• Emergency Operations Center
• Finance
• Personnel
• Administration / Parish President
• Council Secretary
• Purchasing
• Public Information

• New building replaces the current East Regional Library previously located on River Oaks Drive.
• Site was donated by British Petroleum for use as a library so a larger facility could be provided to the public without a disruption of service.
  
• Cost of construction was approximately $8.8 million; paid for with funds saved by the Library. 
• Total of 33,960 square feet.
  
• 25,572 square feet of that space encompasses the library, public meeting rooms and staff work space housed on the first floor.
  
• 8,387 square feet of offices and support services housed on the second floor.
• Incorporates an adult area with books, CDs, DVDs, public computers, etc. and a computer lab for classes and “overflow” use.
  
• Also includes:
  
• Five small study rooms.
• Browsing and reading area for magazines and newspapers.
• Children’s room for book collection.
• Children’s Activity Room for larger storytimes, crafts and performers.
• Young adult room for book collection.
• Large public meeting room capable of holding 100 people.
• Small public meeting room large enough to hold 20.
  

East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant

• Plant processes wastewater from all homes and businesses on the East Bank.
• Rehab work done to repair corrosion from H2S (hydrogen sulfide) gas.
• Concrete walls have received new lining.
• Rotary screens, along with their new base plates and flexible couplings, installed; decking repaired.
• Repair Phases I and II completed at a cost $618,450 combined.

Water Line River Crossing

• Links water systems on both sides of the river to improve flows and provide a more stable water supply in emergency situations.
  
• There are now two 18-inch water mains under the river.
• Tie-in completed fall 2009.
  

East Bank Bridge Park

• Hosts over 500 baseball and softball games each year.
• The yearly United Way Bridge Run starts here.
• Home to Louisiana’s second largest radio controlled car race, which takes place in July.
  
• A jog around the walking trail equals 2,600 feet, or about a half mile.
  
• One of 38 sandbag stations during rain events.
• Site of a memorial to the 77 victims of the 1976 George Prince Ferry Disaster that happened between Luling and Destrehan. The event is still the worst ferry disaster in United States History. The 8-foot-tall brick and marble monument was constructed using donations from local contractors.

• Bridge replaced the present culvert system which drains the western side of Ormond Subdivision.
  
• Handles 1,500 cubic feet per second.
  
• Project funded through a FEMA hazard mitigation grant.
  

Destrehan I Pumping Station

• Handles rain water runoff from Ormond Subdivision. Flows discharged under Airline Highway to the Cross Bayou pumping station in the East Bank Hurricane Protection levee.
• Contains three 48-inch and two 52-inch natural gas pumps;  30-inch electric pump.
• Station has been upgraded three times since originally built with the addition of new pumps and automatic bar screen cleaners.
  
• Can be activated and monitored via automatic telemetry.

• Cross Bayou pumping station has the capacity to move 1,250 cubic feet of water per second, keeping Destrehan and the Airline Highway area dry.
• Project of Pontchartrain Levee District; operated by St. Charles Parish.
• Located at the East Bank Hurricane Protection Levee.
• Contains five 250 cfs pumps for heavy rain events and one 50 cfs pump for continuous duty.
• Completed in November 2011 at a cost of $18.8 million.
• St. Charles parish provided automation and telemetry controls.
  

• Project of the Corps of Engineers.
• Pontchartrain Levee District maintains levee.
• Began construction in 1991; has been raised to 17 feet.

Airline Barrier Project

• In 2009 the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development accepted a bid of $1.56 million for construction of a 5-and-a-half mile barrier from Almedia Road in St. Rose to Apple Street in Norco. Project is complete.

East Bank Waterworks General Information

• The East Bank water plant consists of four separate treatment plants; the oldest dating back to 1950.
  
• Two new clarification units, control room building and chemical feed building online as of September 2011.
• Increases total water production capacity on East Bank to 12 million gallons per day.
• Along with two under-river crossings, ensures dependability of water supply during emergencies.
• Total cost of new clarification units is $26 million.
• Capable of producing 13 million gallons of drinking water per day total.
  
• Manned 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.
  
• On average, 4.5 million gallons of water per day are treated at this site.
  
• Five million gallons of treated water is maintained in five ground water storage tanks.
  
• Two new 1-million-gallon water storage tanks completed in 2008 increased the storage capacity to approximately a one day’s supply for the East Bank.
  
• Construction of oldest treatment unit was completed in 1951. It was completely refurbished in 1979.
• B-Plant, originally constructed in 1965, was refurbished in 1980. 
  
• C-Plant was completed in 1980. It is capable of producing 4 million gallons each day. 
  
• From this site the Department of Waterworks produces over 1.5 billion gallons of water for the citizens of the East Bank of St. Charles Parish annually.
• Waterworks maintains:
• Nearly 400 miles of pipe to deliver this water to each residence and business.
• 2,800 water valves to control the flow in these pipes.
  
• 2,500 fire hydrants to provide fire protection. 
• Reads approximately 250,000 water meters each year and processes and collects the bills associated with each customer’s service.
  
• Performed by a staff of approximately 50.
  

River Levee Bike and Recreational Path

• Bike path stretches from parish line to Harding Street in New Sarpy on the East Bank.
  
• The stretch from Ormond Boulevard to Harding Street cost $267,577 to construction and is being 95-percent funded by a Transportation Enhancement Program grant.
  
• Grant funding has also been approved for construction from Harding Street to Apple Street in Norco.
  
• Funding is also in place for a phase from Apple Street to the Spillway levee.
  
• Because these are state Department of Transportation and Development projects the timeline is uncertain.

Old Destrehan Library - New Public Works and Wastewater Offices

• Public Works and Wastewater offices have relocated from trailers near the waterworks site in Luling to this renovated facility.
  
• This move gives waterworks the room it needs to build new water storage tanks and a storage facility in Luling.
  
  

West Bank Bridge Park

• Home of the Alligator Festival and the United Way's annual jambalaya and gumbo cook-off Battle for the Paddle.
  
• Park includes tennis courts, multiple baseball fields and a walking trail.
  
• One trip around the park is equal to about 4,800 feet, or 0.9 miles.
  
• Throughout the year the park serves as a playing field for more than 1,700 baseball and softball participants, both youth and adult.
  
• This bridge park site is also very functional for us during emergencies. During Hurricane Gustav the parish staged over 1,000 residents who required assistance evacuating here at the park before being driven by school bus to shelters north of Interstate 12.
  
• Also one of 38 locations where residents can fill and take sandbags leading up to a storm threat.
  

Outdoor Warning Sirens

• 36 outdoor warning sirens are located throughout the parish.
  
• Paid for by Entergy as part of emergency preparedness for the Waterford 3 nuclear facility in Killona.
• Sirens are tested every first Thursday of the month at noon.
  
  

Cousins Pumping Station

• Eight pumps handle a capacity of 422,000 gallons of water per minute.
• Pumps can be controlled off-site and automatically via telemetry system.
  
• Services the basic watershed from Boutte to Lakewood and from the river to the wetlands south of existing subdivision developments.
• New automatic bar screen cleaners make sure pumps’ grating is clear during heavy rain events.
• Moves water from the Cousins Canal to the wetlands.
  

Luling Oxidation Pond

• Treats 3.2 million gallons of wastewater per day from residents and businesses on the West Bank.
• 57 acres in size.
• Built in 1960.
• SCADA system monitors pumps at the pond.
• Chlorine alarm system monitors treatment.
• Wastewater treatment process takes 30 days, including dechlorination.
• Treated wastewater is distributed into the surrounding wetlands to help replenish the marsh.
• Pond must be periodically dredged of solid materials.
  

• St. Charles Parish personnel maintain and operate this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers station, river structure and freshwater diversion project.
• Contains three 48-inch pumps for a total capacity of 256,000 gallons per minute.
• Diversion project injects fresh water into marshy areas south of St. Charles Parish developments.
  

• New 1 million gallon water storage tank in the works; design being funded by the state.
• Facility produces 9 million gallons of water per day.
• Site houses three clarification units in total.
• Nearly 400 miles of waterlines deliver water to homes and businesses in St. Charles Parish.
• Waterworks operates with a staff of approximately 48.

• 8,800 square feet; $1.5 million construction cost.
• Built to combat disease, with areas for isolation, quarantine and adoptable animals.
• Features 40 dog runs, 83 cat cages and 17 recovery cages.
• Ample medical rooms for veterinarian care.
• Partial funding in the amount of $300,000 from the Louisiana Department of the Treasury.
• Low cost spaying and neutering available for those who quality through the St. Charles Humane Society.

• Staffed 24/7 by coordinators in contact with industry, responders.
• Current EOC is one of the last bomb shelters to be built in the U.S. Walls are lead-lined concrete.
• New building will quadruple square footage; construction contract approved by the Parish Council at $5.8 million.
  
• To be complete in late 2013.
• In the last five years, EOC has fully activated more than 38 times in response to emergencies, with lower level incidents occurring weekly.