FRANKLIN — The lack of a floodgate to keep away rising tides from the Gulf of Mexico caused more than 1,000 homes in St. Mary Parish to take in water from Hurricane Ike’s surge along the St. Mary Parish coast Saturday afternoon.

St. Mary Parish Director of Homeland Security Duval Arthur said he predicts the storm surge was about 10 feet, adding that the parish still had water left over from Hurricane Gustav.

“This is the worst we’ve ever seen,” he said.

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Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris said efforts to build a 6-foot levee along the Franklin Canal to protect residents who live east of Willow Street failed, sending water into homes. However, loop holes in the levee sent water on the west side of the canal into the Pecan Acres.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, witnessed the scene at the Franklin Canal on an overpass high above the area.

“This is proof that coastal restoration isn’t just about saving our marshes, but about saving homes and property,” Landrieu said. “Now that Ike has hit the Texas coast, maybe the nation will realize that there are disasters happening right here in America that our homeland security need to focus on. This isn’t just the Gulf Coast, it’s America’s energy coast.”

Jones however, said he doesn’t understand why Franklin city leaders haven’t begun the process of getting a floodgate at the base of the canal near Vermilion Bay. The former Franklin mayor said the issue should have been addressed immediately after Hurricane Rita, which shined the “first spotlight” on the problem.

Jones said when he was working for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco he worked with former state Rep. Jack Smith to assist in the city obtaining money for protection that included the Franklin Canal.

“We got the city $600,000 so that they could begin addressing this problem,” Jones said.

Also, Jones said the City Council held a public hearing on the matter earlier this year, but “… nothing has come afterwards.”

Harris said he “does not have time to sit and wait for a study.”

“At that public hearing, I along with the council, decided it would be more prudent to build a permanent levee around the canal, because after all, $600,000 isn’t enough money to build a floodgate,” Harris said. “Trust me, I’m all for a floodgate, but that isn’t going to quickly answer the needs of people right now.

Harris said plans for a permanent levee required signatures from property owners to perform engineering surveys in the area. There were more than 15 property owners involved, and Harris said the final signature came two weeks before Hurricane Gustav.

“I just don’t have time to play politics like other politicians,” Harris said.

Arthur said a similar problem exists along the Hanson Canal, which veers east of the Franklin Canal. Arthur, on the job since 2006, said he has since found a levee once existed at the base of the Hanson Canal, but is no longer there.

When the Hanson Canal breached, the pumping station and a generator washed away with the surge, and also caused flooding as far east as Garden City and along the Bayou Teche, where water entered the Eastwood area of Franklin, Arthur said.

Another makeshift levee made by city employees fell apart at 10 p.m. Friday, flooding 300 homes in a nearby subdivision and forcing emergency evacuations for 115 nursing home residents. Arthur said they were rescued before water reached the facility and taken to Franklin Foundation Hospital.

“This area needs to be placed on a top priority concern list when it comes to protection from the Gulf of Mexico, which is less than five miles from Vermilion Bay, which has got slammed from high tides beginning with Hurricane Lili in my opinion,” Arthur said. 

“I admire the valiant effort by Mayor Harris, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough,” Arthur said.