BAYOU VERMILION DISTRICT
Since 1984, the Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District has worked to beautify, conserve and manage sites along the Vermilion ensuring the preservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural resources for the citizens of Lafayette Parish. The Bayou Vermilion District’s mission focuses both on the environment and the unique culture of Lafayette.
Trash/Debris Management
The Bayou Vermilion District diligently works year-round to improve water quality in and around the Vermilion River. With a staff of four employees, our bayou specialist team was able to fill over 1,220 55-gallon barrels with floating debris such as water bottles, soda cans, fast food wrappers, etc. in 2014. In addition to floating debris, the team removed 281 large items, such as couches, mattresses, 55-gallon drums, propane tanks and televisions. Also removed from the banks, coulees and canals that drain into the Vermilion River were 160 automotive and truck tires.
Teche/Vermilion Watershed
Lafayette Parish is in the Teche-Vermilion Watershed. This means that any time it rains in Lafayette Parish, the water flows into ditches along the road, down storm drains, through coulees, into bayous and eventually all of the rainwater ends up in the Bayou Vermilion.
Water Quality Management
One of the goals of the Bayou Vermilion District is to elevate the awareness with the public to inform and educate on the tremendous negative impact any sort of debris can have on the overall water quality of the bayou.
Testing and Reporting
Bayou Vermilion District’s Bayou Operations team members take water samples and test for for fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature. There are 12 sample sites along the Bayou Vermilion.
Home Sewer Inspections
BVD’s Water Quality Department is currently working with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) with on-site sewer system inspections, education and outreach with the goal of improving the water quality in the Vermilion River.