Efforts to control water in Louisiana have long been shaped by extreme natural and weather-related events, and the West Atchafalaya Basin Levee, built between 1920 and 1940 to protect agricultural, industrial, and residential lands on the basin’s western side, also blocked periodic high water from the Atchafalaya River that had previously flowed through bayous and canals into Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River. After the levee was built, water in both rivers repeatedly fell to very low levels, allowing saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to move in and making Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River unsuitable for irrigation, while excessive agricultural water use and pumping created further problems. The Flood Control Act of 1966 authorized the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water Project to fund a system that transfers water from the Atchafalaya River into these waterways. To control flow during low rainfall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed a plan to pump up to 1,040 cubic feet per second of fresh water west from the Atchafalaya River just north of Krotz Springs through an outlet structure and a 6-mile-long conveyance channel across the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway to the western levee, from which it flows into Bayou Courtableau, feeding Bayou Teche and the channel formed by the borrow pit of the West Atchafalaya Basin Levee. From Bayou Courtableau, fresh water is distributed downstream, including to the Vermilion River through Bayou Fuseilier and the Ruth Canal, while connected bayous, drainage channels, and other structures allow water to move between the two rivers during high water events. Flow in the borrow pit continues to several bodies of water, including Lake Dauterive, Lake Fausse Point, and eventually the Gulf. Completed in 1982, the project came under a collaborative governing authority of federal, state, and local governments called the Teche Vermilion Fresh Water District. Without the Teche Vermilion Pumping Station and conveyance canal, water in the Teche and Vermilion rivers would not be adequate for irrigation, and water quality would be severely degraded by stagnation and saltwater intrusion. The project restores the historical connection between the Atchafalaya River and Bayou Courtableau and provides improved habitats, recreational opportunities, and a better quality of life for residents along the Teche and Vermilion rivers.