Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District

09/04/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday to our Executive Director, Dustin Rabalais!

We’re grateful for Dustin’s leadership, hard work, and dedication to Bayou Lafourche and the communities we serve. We hope you have a great birthday and an even better year ahead!

Help us wish Dustin a very Happy Birthday!

08/24/2026

Happy Birthday to our Operations Manager, Josh! 🎉🎂

Thank you for all you do to keep things running smoothly at the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District. We hope you have a great birthday!

08/19/2026

💧 WATERWAY WEDNESDAY | DID YOU KNOW?

A common misconception we hear is, “Why don’t they just open the locks and let more Mississippi River water into Bayou Lafourche?”

What many people don’t realize is that Bayou Lafourche isn’t fed through a lock system.

At the head of Bayou Lafourche in Donaldsonville, a pump station moves water from the Mississippi River directly into the bayou. Pumping is necessary because, under normal conditions, the elevation of the Mississippi River is not high enough to provide the amount of freshwater Bayou Lafourche needs by gravity alone.

The pump station helps maintain the freshwater flow needed throughout Bayou Lafourche as that water makes its way south.

Waterway Wednesday — learning a little more about Bayou Lafourche, one week at a time.

08/17/2026

Water elevations in Bayou Lafourche have not stabilized long enough for the Lockport Water Control Structure to remain open. We will re-evaluate opening the structure this weekend if possible.

08/14/2026

08/08/2026

Due to a temporary and unplanned power outage at our Pump Station in Donaldsonville, the Lockport structure is closed.
Once conditions improve, the structure will be reopened.

08/06/2026

Lockport Water Control Structure Update:

The Mississippi River is approaching seasonal lows, length of duration and when are hard to predict, due to lower river levels, the Lockport Water Control Structure may be subject to closure.
Boaters are encouraged to plan accordingly and check the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District website for live updates on the structure’s current status before transiting.
We will continue to provide updates as conditions change.

https://www.blfwd.org/

08/06/2026

Help us wish Albert a very Happy Birthday! 🎉🎂

We appreciate all he does for the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District and hope he has a wonderful day!

08/04/2026

August is National Water Quality Month — a month dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of clean, safe water and encouraging people to help protect rivers, lakes, groundwater, and drinking water sources! 💧 BTNEP works to protect water quality within through several measures, such as our free inspections for individual home sewage systems! Malfunctioning home sewage systems can cause serious harm to homes and their surrounding areas, including raw sewage backups, foundational and structural property damage, exposure to toxic gases and pathogens, and severe soil and groundwater contamination.

To combat this issue, BTNEP has partnered with the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District, with funding from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, to provide free individual home sewage system inspections in the Bayou Folse Watershed (the area between Thibodaux and Lockport, and between Bayou Lafourche and Bayou Blue). The BLFWD inspector usually takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes to provide the inspection as a public service to homeowners. An inspection report and maintenance tips for the home sewage system are provided to homeowners as part of the inspection.

Please keep an eye out for our inspector, and please do your part to protect your family and our community's water quality by properly maintaining your home sewer system!