VENICE, La., - Soldiers of the Louisiana National Guard's 1023rd
Vertical Engineer Company, 528th Engineer Battalion continued laying out
water diversion system materials here in the southwest pass of the
Mississippi River Delta today.
The 1023rd, headquartered in Oak Grove, La., has been constructing a
7.1-mile barrier across a beach in the southwest pass as a secondary line of
defense to the boom line, to protect the natural marshlands. They have
completed nearly one mile of this operation.
This water diversion system replaces sandbags and is comprised of a series
of interlocking flexible tubes that are inflated with water to form a
temporary dam or levee.
Representatives from U.S. Flood Control Corp., the suppliers of the water
diversion systems, have been working alongside the Guardsmen.
"Working with the National Guard has been a dream," said Paul H.N. Vickers,
deployment specialist with U.S. Flood Control. "These are some smart guys,
very intuitive, and really the best I've ever seen putting out our
equipment."
The water diversion systems are normally used for flood control, but will be
used to support the shoreline protection mission.