Enjoy a Fun Game of Pétanque and Learn How to Improve Water Quality at the Same Time!

THIBODAUX, LA – On Saturday, March 18, 2017 the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP), the City of Thibodaux and the Thibodaux “Swamp Pétanque Club” would like to invite the public to attend the opening of the Stormwater Infiltration Basin and Pétanque Terrain at Peltier Park from 2:30 – 5:30 PM.

Bernard Champey, French pétanque champion, and Mike Leblanc, President of the Lafayette pétanque club, “Boules Cadienne” will also be attending the opening and playing the game with anyone interested n learning about the sport. The French game of pétanque is a target bowling game that is both competitive and social, making it fun for families and people of all ages.

The idea for the Stormwater Infiltration Basin and Pétanque Terrain project came from a project developed through the BTNEP Water Quality Action Plan Team (WQAPT). The project is based on the idea that one could build a pétanque terrain that could improve water quality and recharge groundwater. Pétanque terrains resemble stormwater infiltration basins. The project, funded through the BTNEP WQAPT, was constructed to help improve the environment and provide recreational and economic opportunities. “A stormwater infiltration basin holds water during a rainfall event and then slowly releases it to the soil. This helps to protect our waterways by minimizing runoff pollution and recharging groundwater,” says Andrew Barron, BTNEP Water Quality Program Coordinator. The feature was constructed with coarse crushed rock in its bottom, which stores water from rainfall events, and with fine crushed rock on its top, which becomes a surface for playing the game of pétanque. The project also includes educational signs that describe the function of the stormwater infiltration basin and how to play the game of pétanque. The project was a partnership between Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program and the City of Thibodaux.

For more information regarding the event or about stormwater infiltration, please email Andrew Barron at andrew@btnep.org.

Download the original press release here.