Trash-Filled Coulee has Youngsville Residents Demanding Answers

“This is uncalled for. My belief is it could be corrected. Not could… it has to be corrected."

This comes from E.J and Lucille Broussard of Youngsville who are voicing their concerns about the drainage in the Anselm Coulee.

According to a report by KATC, the Broussards have lived in the area for 11-years and have dealt with flooding in the area since they moved in.

And what is to blame for the regular flooding in the area, that even engulfed the Broussards' home in 2016--they say the coulee.

The couple says the trash in the coulee is beginning to get out of hand.

“Right now, the grass and the trash that gets inside retains the water. It doesn’t take much at all. Like the rain this morning, it was not necessarily a heavy rain; it was up to the back, and it was ready to crest over.”

The problem over the dirtiness of the coulee comes from the lack of communication between the government and the city of Youngsville on who is legally in charge of maintaining the coulee.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Mayor Ken Ritter said that the coulee belongs to the city of Youngsville and that it's their responsibility to keep it up.

This is a direct contradiction to what Mayor-President Joel Robideaux said in October when he said the parish was responsible for the coulee's upkeep.

KATC is currently working to find someone to comment on the issue.