We don’t have a region without flood protection.
After the 2005 levee failures, New Orleanians demanded a new kind of levee board. In 2006, voters approved reforms that consolidated the region’s patchwork of local levee boards into two regional flood protection authorities, one on each bank of the river. The new boards would be led by engineers and other experts, insulated from politics, and focused on a single mission: protecting the region from flooding.
BGR supported those reforms. In 2014, BGR helped defeat legislation that would have given the governor sweeping control over levee board appointments, and in 2025 it called on state leaders to keep the core framework intact.
Twenty years after those reforms, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East is going through its most significant upheaval yet. The agency operates and maintains the levees, floodwalls, floodgates and pumps that protect the east bank. Since the governor gained direct control over its leadership, the agency has replaced its board, lost key engineering staff, and sharply expanded its police force. It has also drawn scrutiny from the public, the Legislature and the state attorney general. Supporters call the changes overdue reforms, and critics warn the agency is drifting from its mission. Residents who depend on the system and pay to maintain it deserve a clear picture of what is happening.
At our fall Breakfast Briefing, “Keeping Levees First: Who’s Running Our Flood Protection?” BGR President & CEO Rebecca Mowbray will moderate a conversation with three people at the center of the debate:
- Blair duQuesnay is President of Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, the grassroots organization that led the push for levee board reform after Hurricane Katrina.
- Senator Kirk Talbot represents District 10 in the Louisiana State Senate and has spoken publicly about the authority’s direction.
- Jeff Williams is Regional Director of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, where he oversees the agency’s day-to-day operations.
The discussion will be followed by audience Q&A.
Thursday, November 5 | 8–9 a.m. (doors open at 7:30 a.m.)
First Horizon Bank Atrium
601 Poydras Street, New Orleans, 20th Floor
Admission is free, thanks to the sponsorship of First Horizon Bank. Seating is limited.
Can’t make the in-person event? Register for the livestream here, and we’ll send the link before the event. The briefing will also be rebroadcast on WWNO 89.9 FM and archived on BGR’s YouTube channel.
