HOUMA -- Keeping floodwaters away from Ray Boudreaux’s home in the Atchafalaya flood basin has become a daily battle, one that forced him to build his own levee just to stay dry.

"I've been fighting this for the last 18 years,” Boudreaux said.

WWL-TV

Part of the levee Terrebonne Parish resident Ray Boudreaux built to protect his Houma property.

The house sits a few miles outside of Houma and is surrounded by water that comes from all directions – overflow from the Atchafalaya River, runoff from nearby development and, Boudreaux believes, water pumped to keep other neighborhoods dry is funneled directly towards his property.

But while neighbors haven’t done anything, Boudreaux has. He built his own personal levee.

"I'm doing the best I can with the lack of experience I have, put it that way,” Boudreaux said.

He started the project in 1991 with a modest 2½-foot pile of dirt sealing off his front yard. As the years passed and more heavy rains came, Boudreaux kept working and the levee kept growing.

When it leaks, he patches it.

"I tried wood at first,” Boudreaux said. “That was no avail. That's when I thought about the sheet metal.”

Yet, while he’s proud of his effort, he’s the first to admit that the levee isn’t perfect. Still, he said the project is critical to saving his home.

Terrebonne Council Chairman Clayton Voison said parish leaders are well aware of Boudreaux’s problem. But he said they don’t have enough money to help, and are continuing a push for Federal dollars to help with flooding problems all over the parish.

Meanwhile, Boudreaux and his wife Susan continue to battle waters near the house. In 2001, water crept up to their doorstep.

If that happens again, the couple said it could be devastating.

Boudreaux builds swings and rocking chairs in a workshop next to his house. Lately, though, he said he spends more time on the levee than his own job.

"I just kind of shut that down to try and get this thing (ready) because if we flood, I'm out of business. Simple as that,” Boudreaux said.

Nevertheless, the thought of leaving is tempting.

"I've wanted to buy another piece of property,” Boudreaux said. “Just recently, one of our relatives was selling his house and property, but then that would be running away and I just got too much invested right here to get up and go. So, I got to try and protect what I have."

And with sand bags, his own pumping system and a levee built by himself, that is exactly what he’s doing.