YOUNGSVILLE, La. (KLFY) — Homeowners in Champagne Estates which has a Youngsville address but overlooked by Vermilion Parish officials highlighted the recent flooding but speaks out on ongoing flooding issues with just two to three inches of rain flooding roadways and blocking access to homeowners.

The weekend rain brought four to six inches of rain nearly ten inches within the past week, according to Meteorologist Adam Olivier.

Jessica Scott, a Champagne resident explained the hardships of the recent flooding brought to her neighborhood.

“The water stays in the area for 2 to 3 days. The longest that I’ve seen has been up to four days. It becomes a problem because our homes are not accessible.” Jessica said. “If we’re home when the flooding begins, then we’re not able to get to work or bring the kids to school. There are people with medical needs in the neighborhood so that’s an even more serious problem that they’re facing.”

She and her husband Lucas Scott are longtime homeowners in the area. Oftentimes residents have to schedule their lives around the forecast.

“Is the tide high? Is the wind blowing from the south? You know, what is the actual forecast of rain? How many inches are we anticipating?” Jessica said. “Are the waterways surrounding us full of water already? That the water won’t have anywhere to go if it rains anymore? There’s so many things to consider and it takes a lot out of you.”

The Scott family mentioned the area is small. Only about 20 to 30 homes are affected as far as the water staying and not receding soon enough to have the roads accessible. They explained that flooded roadways happen frequently with two to three inches of rain leaving two to three feet of water on the ground.

With the recent rainfall, Lucas explained that if residents who are not stuck inside their homes do leave home for work and come back to flooding they are forced to leave their vehicles on the road.

“We have nowhere else to put them,” Lucas said. “We were told we had to move our vehicles from the road or they were going to be towed. We had nowhere to take them because we couldn’t get to our home. We can’t drive through three feet of water. So what are you supposed to do at that instance when you go nowhere to take your stuff? You know, it’s that or you have to pay to get your vehicles out of the impound which is pretty disheartening, and at the same time, and you’re told you’ve got to walk through the water to get to your vehicle while the lightning and rain. It’s pretty disheartening.”

Although many residents voiced the concerns and since 2019 they said Vermilion Parish officials have tried to relieve some of the flooding finding a permanent solution is still in the works.

“It’s just a problem that’s not going to go away on its own and we do need help,” said Jessica.

“It just seems like everyone’s kind of pointing the finger at each other rather than coming together to solve the problem. Everyone wants to pass on a buck and you’ve got people who are dealing with this all through that neighborhood and I don’t know many other places where they have two and a half, three feet of water where you can’t access your home for days. So, you know, it’d be nice if they would come together and work together to try to resolve this in some kind of way,” said Lucas Scott.

News 10 reached out to William Vallot, president of the Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 for comments and never received a response by news time.

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