EOC Director Scott Whelchel talks Tropical Storm Lee on The Weather Channel.

Recorded Sept. 2, 2011.

Tropical Storm Lee parish wrap-up.

From left, Councilman Shelley Tastet, Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. and Purchasing Officer Bobby Donaldson monitor water flow Sunday from the south at Sellers Canal and Hwy. 90 south of Ama.

Multiple parish government departments contributed to an all-hands-on deck approach to execute pre-storm debris analysis. Parish personnel rode all parish streets to identify trouble spots for Public Works and garbage contractor SDT to correct before they could become a drainage issue.

The Department of Parks and Recreation collaborated with Public Works to increase manpower in the field regarding drainage and debris handling, with field personnel going to A/B shifts early in the week to allow response to occur around the clock.

In addition, flood mitigation efforts and infrastructure improvements since the December 2009 rain event showed their worth. These included – but are not limited to – an additional pump at East Harding (New Sarpy), culvert gates at Prescott Canal (Montz), additional culverts in James Business Park (St. Rose), increased pumping capacity at Almedia / Walker (St. Rose), use of two pumps at Cross Bayou (Destrehan) and several automatic bar screen cleaner installations.

We are grateful to our residents, who heeded our warnings and appeared to have limited travel during dangerous conditions. We also received great assistance from the public in identifying streets with high water and other potentially dangerous situations. Without that help the parish could not have responded as effectively.

We continue to urge residents to be prepared for storm threats, as the 2011 season is just heating up.

PARISH STORM STATS

• 590 logged entries / actions taken in the Emergency Operations Center
• 37,590 total notifications made by EOC via Emergency Alert System (text, phone calls, e-mails)
• 31 streets reported high water
• 2 houses reported partial flooding (Norco)
• 5 houses experienced leaking roofs
• 3 trees damaged homes or cars
• 20 trees down across roads/power lines
• 200 power outages at the storm’s peak, most for less than two hours
• No outages by Sunday night
• 10.36" of rain at Hahnville courthouse since Sept. 1
• 14.33" of rain at Hahnville High School in Boutte since Sept. 1
• 11.86" of rain at St. Charles Borromeo in Destrehan since Sept. 1.
• 4 tornado warnings with no damage reported
• 61.6 million gallons of water pumped by the Wastewater Department at Hahnville, Destrehan and Luling Pond locations

The parish undertakes after action reviews after each emergency incident to review suggestions for improvements and additions to the parish's response planning.

Saturday wrap up and reminders.

We have a lot of good things to report this morning as well as a few reminders:

• The parish did see rain overnight, but nothing along the lines of the squall line we experienced Saturday afternoon. At the peak of the rain Saturday, EOC reported 32 streets barricaded due to high water. There have been reports of 16 downed trees since Friday, and two partially flooded homes in Norco.

• PLEASE STAY HOME if at all possible. Road conditions remain hazardous, and we've seen quite a few traffic accidents because of it. If you can stay home, you cut your chances to zero that you'll be involved in a similar situation!

• We expect more wind and rain today, and we do expect flooding problems if we have a heavy squall line sit over us for an extended period of time. Again, it all boils down to... 'how much rain, how fast.'

• The National Weather Service says there will be a slight increase in the possibility of tornadoes as Lee makes its eastward turn. We are still under a Tropical Storm Warning until 5 a.m. Monday, Tornado Watch until 4 p.m. Sunday, and Flash Flood Watch until Monday evening.

• Entergy is reporting no power outages this morning in St. Charles Parish.

• Garbage service for Monday, Sept. 5 has been canceled due to weather conditions. Makeup routes will be Sept. 6 and 7. Please secure garbage cans in case of high winds.

Singin' n' sandbaggin'.

And on the lighter side -- Before the torrential rains and flooding concerns today, we caught up with a gentleman determined to see the brighter side of a (possibly) bad situation while filling sandbags at the East Bank Bridge Park. :)

Cross Bayou pumping station.

The activation of two of the eight pumps at the still-to-be-completed Cross Bayou pump station in Destrehan is helping keep water off Airline Highway and out of Destrehan neighborhoods. The station is located at the East Bank Hurricane Protection Levee.

Video from this morning in Destrehan.

We spotted an Entergy worker fixing a power pole and took a look at water draining through the new conspan bridge underneath Ormond Boulevard in Destrehan the morning of Sept. 3.

Some highlights from this morning.

After a night filled with no less than three tornado warnings, things are looking as well as can be expected in St. Charles Parish. There are no widespread power outages, water in homes or road closures reported. There was some high water in streets in St. Rose, Boutte, Luling and elsewhere, but luckily the break in the rain has allowed much of it drain away. Trees have been reported down in various areas of the parish, and power outages are mostly limited to single streets in Luling, Paradis, Destrehan and Norco.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! The parish is asking residents to refrain from sewer usage, such as clothes washing, dishwashing, etc. THIS IS IMPORTANT! The parish is asking residents to refrain from sewer usage, such as clothes washing, dishwashing, etc. until further notice due to current high demands on the sewer system. In addition, garbage pickup scheduled for Monday (Labor Day) has been canceled.

Look for us to get walloped again this afternoon with more bands of rain from T.S. Lee. Continue to monitor weather reports and be aware of your surroundings as we continue to deal with this weather threat. Don't drive if you don't have to through severe weather. At EOC, we're continuing full steam ahead and staying focused on the worst-case scenario... If Lee decides it's time to quit, then we consider that a bonus!

We just got some video from the field of workers removing a downed tree from the railroad tracks at Barton Avenue in Luling. Be sure to send your own photos or video of the storm so we can post it here. E-mail it to rsimpson@stcharlesgov.net or post it to our Facebook page.

Some photos from today...

can be found on the parish's Facebook page. You don't have to have a Facebook account to view the photos.

Bayou Des Allemands as T.S. Lee feeder bands roll through.

Some additional T.S. Lee reminders / info.

Please remember that if your windshield wipers are on while driving, your headlights should be too. It's the law. While we're encouraging people to stay home these next few days, please be careful should you have to venture out onto the roadways.

For those who need a reminder, here's a chart showing the wind speed designations for tropical storms and the five categories of hurricanes.

Forecasts as of this afternoon state that we in St. Charles Parish won't see tropical storm-force winds finally die down until sometime Monday afternoon. So we're looking at a drawn-out rain AND wind event.

For those interested, here's a list of some local tide gauges.

More quotables from the morning EOC meeting.

"This will be a marathon, not a sprint."

-- EOC Director Scott Whelchel, describing the slow-moving nature of Tropical Storm Lee and its potential to create a drawn-out emergency situation.

Storm prep in Des Allemands close to completion.

We made it out to Bayou Des Allemands earlier to video some precautionary flood fighting measures being put up by Public Works. A two-foot berm levee made of visqueen and sand will help prevent any high water that may occur as a result of Tropical Storm Lee through early next week.

Keep in mind that when this was filmed the storm had not been upgraded to a tropical storm. Right after filming, the Des Allemands / Paradis / Luling area got hit with a pretty intense band of rain. Luckily it looks like that has passed.

Public Works crews continue to search for problem spots in the parish's drainage scheme. They're quickly going around from street to street doing last-minute maintenance, so they're hard to keep up with!

If you have photos or video of Tropical Storm Lee prep in your area of the parish, be sure to send to rsimpson@stcharlesgov.net so we can feature it here!

Short EOC update on what is now Tropical Storm Lee.

If you were signed up for the St. Charles Parish Emergency Alert System, you would have just gotten this update as a text right to your cell phone...

As of 1 p.m., tropical depression #13 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Lee. Winds are currently 40 mph with the system moving northwest at 2 mph.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING remains in effect for St. Charles Parish until 5:15 p.m. Sept. 3.

Tropical Storm Lee is expected to produce rainfall of 10 to 15 inches with 20 inches possible in some localized areas. Extensive flooding is expected especially in urban areas. Isolated tornadoes may effect our area tonight.

NOLA.com reports on St. Charles Parish storm prep.

St. Charles Parish workers are building sand bag berms in Bayou Gauche and Des Allemands and pumping down canals as they wait for Tropical Depression 13 to come ashore. Residents with shovels and pick-up trucks are stocking up on sandbags.

"We hope it doesn't just sit on us," Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. said.

A new pump station at Cross Bayou in St. Rose will partially operational during the storm, even though the project isn't complete, said Steve Wilson, president of the Pontchartrain Levee District.

Two of the 5 large pumps are working, which should be enough to keep water from ponding on Airline Drive, as it did during heavy rains in December 2009, Wilson said.

"That's 500 cubic feet per second, with is about 10 times the capacity that we had back then," Wilson said.

The station expected to be fully operational in November, but Levee District officials are hoping it will be finished in October.

Wilson said the project's contractor, BLD Construction, worked allowed the district to use the station while it is still under construction. The district will have an engineer on site monitoring the operation to ensure no damage is caused.

St. Pierre said the operating station means the parish won't have to build sandbag berms around I-310 ramps, freeing workers for other jobs.

Parish spokeswoman Renee Allemand Simpson said the parish has declared an emergency for the storm, which is expected to drop between 10 and 15 inches of rain over the area over a three-day period, and be accompanied by high winds that could cause power outages.

Residents lined up with shovels to fill sand bags for use around their homes. The parish on Friday morning expanded the number of sand bag stations to neighhborhood locations.

"One side of my property is low," said Oscar Dorsey of Boutte, as he joined a crowd of residents shoveling sand into parish-supplied bags.

"I'm worried about my sunken living room," said Destrehan resident Brian Taylor said.

SOURCE: http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2011/09/st_charles_lays_sandbags_crank.html

Tonight's Destrehan HS football game canceled.

Destrehan High School has canceled tonight's scheduled football game against South Lafourche, according to head coach Chris Stroud.

The game has tentatively been rescheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. But Stroud said officials will meet on Sunday to reassess the situation.

All other football games involving River Parishes teams will go on as scheduled. East St. John will play at Carencro, St. Charles Catholic is at Tate, Fla., and West St. John will travel to St. James.

Hahnville played Jesuit on Thursday, losing 28-13.

SOURCE: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2011/09/destrehan_cancels_football_gam.html

German Coast Farmers' Market Canceled Saturday

The German Coast Farmers' Market scheduled for 8 a.m. until noon Sept. 3 at Ormond Plantation in Destrehan has been canceled. For more information visit www.germancoastfarmersmarket.org.

Update from St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office

As you all know by now, heavy rains and strong gusty winds are expected for the next three days. Beginning this evening, extra patrol deputies will be deployed on each shift. All other enforcment deputies have been placed on standby in the event more are needed.

In light of potential flooding, everyone should be advised to not take to the roads if you do not have to. Please monitor government access channel Cox cable 6 for updates. Otherwise, have a happy labor day weekend.

To sign up for e-mail updates from Sheriff Champagne, visit sheriffgregchampagne.com.

Sandbag locations being stocked around the parish.

Click here for a list of all the sandbag stations around the parish... there's one in your neck of the woods! Please remember to bring a shovel as these stations are fill-your-own bag. Sand is for St. Charles Parish residents ONLY.

This about sums it up.

Public Works Director Sam Scholle said this during this morning's executive staff meeting at EOC, and we think it sums up TD 13 well: "It all boils down to how many inches how fast."

Tropical Depression 13 Updates

Well, here we are again! Welcome back to the St. Charles Parish Emergency Blog. We'll be posting photos, videos and mini-updates here throughout this weather event. Please leave a comment or question should you have any for us.

All our official press release updates can be found on the front page of the parish website, http://stcharlesparish-la.gov. Those are updated at least twice daily.

The parish offers a variety of different ways to receive emergency updates... Be sure to sign up if you haven't already. You can:

• Sign up for EOC text, phone and e-mail alerts: https://portal.nticonnectcty.com/welcome.aspx?eiid=1207B6088C3478A36C7B
• Sign up for e-newsletters to get the latest press releases: http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?page=17
• Subscribe to blog updates by clicking on the link on the right of this page.
• And don't forget our other communications outlets: Cox Cable Channel 6 in St. Charles Parish, stcharlesparish-la.gov, 1-888-SCP-9EOC, 1370 AM, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Any questions may also be directed to the St. Charles Parish Emergency Operations Center at (985) 783-5050 24 hours a day.