WOULD RECLAIM
SWAMP LANDS
Project on Foot to Drain 5000 Acres
in Jefferson Parish - Petition
Made for Drainage Commission.
May Issue Bonds.
A project for the reclamation of 5000
acres of swamp land directly in the
rear of Gretna, is under consideration
by the property holders in this area. A
petition for the appointment of a drainage
commission with the ultimate object
of issuing bonds for the reclamation of
these lands, which is permissible under
the provisions of amendment No. 8, recently
ratified by the vote of the people,
will be submitted to the police jury of
Jefferson parish at its next meeting,
Dec. 12.
Under the provisions of the amendment,
persons owning the majority of
the acreage within a given area can
form drainage districts, and issue 5 per
cent forty-year bonds to cover the cost
of reclamation. The interest on these
bonds and the cost of the operation
of the drainage system, will be covered
by an acreage tax which, under the provision
of the amendment, is limited to
$3.50 an acre per year.
The project for the reclamation of this
section, it is said, can be finished at
comparatively a small cost. A levee is
to be constructed in the rear of this
land from the Algiers drainage canal,
running across and connecting with
Harvey's Canal or Bayou Barataria, a
distance of about three miles. This small
stretch of levee will give added protection
to the town of Gretna, and will
protect it against overflow from the
rear.
In this tract of 5000 acres, a number
of dairies have been started even with
the land in bad condition, and it is
evident that if this land is reclaimed, it
will be of much greater value and can
be utilized not only for dairies, but also
for truck gardens and farm lands. On
account of its proximity to the city, it
would be particularly fitted for such
purposes.
Of this district, about 3800 acres comprise
what is known as the Verrett property.
Efforts were made some time ago
to reclaim this land by putting in a
private drainage system, but this project
was abandoned. Later an attempt
was made to form a drainage district,
but until the amendment was passed, it
was necessary to have the approval of
the voters in the parish, and the tax
to pay for the drainage of this land
would have been assessed on all property
holders in the parish instead of on
the individual owners of the land benefited
by the reclamation project, as it is
under the new amendment.
