Vidalia — Concordia Parish representatives planted a seed in Washington, D.C., last month regarding parish-wide drainage improvements.

Now, the representatives say they just need to keep watering that seed.

Bill Beasley, who is chairman of the Concordia Parish Drainage Committee, traveled to the nation’s capitol along with Concordia Economic Development Director Heather Malone and other parish officials to meet with congressional leaders and seek funding for drainage improvements.

Decades of poor drainage in the parish has impacted residents, businesses and agriculture, including an estimated $30.7 million in agriculture losses in the last seven to eight years.

The proposed improvements include constructing drainage structures for enhanced water removal from the ring levee system around the parish.

Beasley appeared before the Concordia Parish Police Jury Monday evening to present the board with an update on the trip.

“We had a very good meeting and a very beneficial meeting,” Beasley said. “The way I can best describe it is like raising a garden.

“We planted a seed and now we have to water it and wait for the harvest.”

Beasley said he met with Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Vance McAllister to discuss details of the project and answer any questions.

“We were listened to, and we went over with them in detail how we needed help,” Beasley said. “But the main thing we requested was money to get our study done, because we have to have that to move forward with the project.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggested the parish complete a section 408 study, which will identify the most suitable parish locations for additional drainage structures for the entire parish. The study would analyze the hydraulics and watershed for the entire parish and determine the next steps of the project.

The Corps informally estimated the study would cost $2 million to complete.

Concordia leaders are seeking assistance in pushing the parish’s application with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to complete the study.

“We’ve planned to check in with them once a month to make sure we have something happening,” Beasley told the board. “And the more letters we can send to Washington will help.”

Jury President Melvin Ferrington thanked Beasley for the update and said the project was a crucial one for the parish.

“Without your help on this, we wouldn’t have gotten this far,” Ferrington said. “With your help and the economic development board, I think we can get there.”