CARENCRO, LA — Severe flash flooding that swept through parts of Acadiana early Thursday morning has left residents in the Oak Springs subdivision in Carencro grappling with yet another round of rising waters. For many of the area’s longtime residents, this latest flooding event is simply the latest chapter in an ongoing battle with drainage issues that have plagued the neighborhood for years.
Kenneth Lejeune, a resident of Oak Springs for six years, described the recurring flooding as “terrible” and “horrible,” emphasizing the severity of the situation. “The rain keeps coming and the water just keeps coming up,” Lejeune said. “Ever since I’ve been here, if we get a hard rain, it builds up water like this all through the neighborhood.”
Though his home narrowly avoided flood damage this time, Lejeune recalled the anxiety that accompanied the rising waters. “I was praying, I was praying we wouldn’t get much more because I knew the water would come up,” he explained. “And then we woke up to this, this morning.”
Across the street, Kevin Duplantis, who has lived in Oak Springs for 11 years, echoed similar frustrations. “If I’ve been here this long and they haven’t done anything, I’m ready to move,” Duplantis remarked. He noted that, despite the community’s previous efforts, such as circulating a petition urging parish leaders to address flooding and drainage concerns, little has changed since the 2016 flood that devastated the area.
The flooding events, Duplantis said, are compounded by the slow drainage process. “It depends on how thick it is, but it’ll stay for a good long time, like all afternoon. It’ll just stay,” he added, highlighting the delays in water receding after heavy rainfall.
The lack of a long-term solution to the ongoing flooding has many residents feeling helpless, especially as they face the possibility of similar or worse conditions with the next major storm. While Duplantis has grown frustrated with the lack of progress, Lejeune remains hopeful that the parish will take action. “I’d like to see things get done,” Lejeune said. “I’d like to see the parish come out and tend to this issue and get it resolved — find where the problem is and get it fixed.”
Residents of Oak Springs are not just dealing with an inconvenience but are bracing for the potential dangers that the next storm could bring. They are calling on parish officials to step up and address the root causes of the flooding before it’s too late.
As Carencro and other parts of Acadiana continue to face the growing threat of severe weather, many in Oak Springs are hoping that the community’s persistent calls for help will finally be met with the attention and action needed to safeguard their homes and neighborhoods from future flooding.