# Comite Diversion Canal, Ten Years After 2016: What It Means for Your Foundation | Foundation Repair Baton Rouge

> The Comite River Diversion Canal is 64% complete (Aug 2026). What it means for flood maps, insurance and foundation decisions in Central and Livingston Parish.

URL: https://foundationrepairbatonrougelouisiana.com/blog/comite-diversion-canal-2026-update-what-it-means-for-foundations/

# Comite Diversion Canal, Ten Years After 2016: What It Means for Your Foundation

By Foundation Repair Baton Rouge · 2026-09-22

![Comite Diversion Canal, Ten Years After 2016: What It Means for Your Foundation](https://foundationrepairbatonrougelouisiana.com/images/hero-comite-river-flood-control-canal-construction-louisiana.webp)

[Foundation Repair Baton Rouge](https://foundationrepairbatonrougelouisiana.com/) follows flood-control news because it changes the repair-or-raise math for a lot of our customers. Ten years after the August 2016 flood, the project most often mentioned in that conversation — the Comite River Diversion Canal — was the subject of a state task force meeting on **August 31, 2026**.

## Where the project stands

According to reporting from WAFB and WBRZ on that meeting, the overall project is about **64% complete**, but the diversion structure itself — the part that actually moves Comite River floodwater west to the Mississippi — is about **35% complete**. Two bridges are finished and a third is under construction, expected in 2028. The diversion feature is expected to reach 50% in **spring 2027**.

## Why the 50% mark matters

FEMA traditionally redraws flood maps once a project like this is half complete. Officials said FEMA now applies that benchmark to the diversion feature specifically, not the overall project. Updated maps could move about **13,000 Livingston Parish homes** out of high-risk flood zones, with the earliest premium reductions possible around the **end of 2027**. FEMA did not attend the August 31 meeting and responded by email, which drew criticism from the task force.

## What it means for foundation decisions

For homeowners in Central, Denham Springs, Walker and Greenwell Springs who flooded in 2016, the canal affects two decisions:

-   **Raise or repair?** If your home may move out of a high-risk zone, the insurance savings from raising it shrink. That doesn’t change the physical flood risk of a low house, but it changes the financial case. If you’re weighing [house raising](https://foundationrepairbatonrougelouisiana.com/house-raising/), get both numbers and watch the map revisions.
-   **Settlement still needs fixing.** The canal won’t change what has already happened under slabs rebuilt after 2016. Post-flood settlement — saturated fill consolidating unevenly — shows up as new cracks and binding doors years later, and flood insurance excludes it as earth movement. See [foundation damage after a flood](https://foundationrepairbatonrougelouisiana.com/guide/foundation-damage-after-flood/).

## What to do now

If you’re seeing new cracks in a home rebuilt after 2016, get it measured now rather than waiting on flood maps. If you’re considering raising, ask your parish about Flood Mitigation Assistance and keep an eye on the map revision timeline before committing.

_Sources: WAFB, “FEMA absence at Comite diversion meeting leaves flood insurance questions unanswered,” Aug. 31, 2026; WBRZ, “Comite Diversion Canal more than halfway done, but flood insurance relief is still a ways off,” Aug. 31, 2026._

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