Lake Borgne is located southeast of Lake Pontchartrain, separated by The Rigolets and the stretches of I-10 and Highway 90 that connect New Orleans East to St. Tammany Parish and the Northshore. Given its location, the lagoon is a critical first line of defense from hurricanes and other storms threatening southeastern Louisiana.

Over the past 50 years, saltwater intrusion, subsidence, and major storms have transformed the once-thriving marshland around Lake Borgne into open water.

Once completed, the Lake Borgne Marsh Creation project will be Louisiana’s largest marsh creation effort by acreage to date. The project will use 13 million cubic yards of dredged material from Lake Borgne—enough to fill the Superdome about three times—to restore over 2,700 acres of marsh along the lake’s southern shore in St. Bernard Parish.

Construction began in 2022, with an expected completion date of 2025. During the first 18 months of construction, 4.5-foot-tall dikes were built to form seven containment cells. As of 2024, all containment dikes have been constructed and four of the seven marsh creation areas (MCAs) have been filled. One area is halfway complete, while two others will be filled in 2025.

In addition to the project’s benefit on storm surge reduction, it also reinforces the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) around the Greater New Orleans region, providing an additional layer of defense and showcasing CPRA's integrated approach to restoration and protection.