Airport alligator

HOUMA, La. (AP) - Flooding problems are so bad at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport that an alligator is making a home in a drainage ditch that always is filled with water, says the owner of an aircraft charter business.

Bobby Butler, with the aircraft charter company, said the 50-foot ditch has become a permanent pond for the alligator.

Earl Hicks, airport director, said he's seen flooding increase dramatically in the 25 years he's been with the airport. The water flows from the Bayou Chauvin, and flooding has become worse as area marsh has eroded.

Relief could come by the way of a road planned for southwest of the airport. The new roadway would extend and elevate a nearby street, which would act as both a levee and a route to cut across southern Houma. 

---

Information from: Daily Comet, http://www.dailycomet.com 

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)