Making Waves in Water Management

Louisiana is an ideal location for water management companies with its proximity to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Dozens of companies with capabilities related to Gulf Coast restoration and water resource management are located in the state, and billions of dollars are spent each year on coastal restoration and flood control in Louisiana.

A Steady Flow of Water-Focused Opportunities

As the state becomes a water management hub, the talent and resources of academia, business and government converge to form world-class think tanks, laboratories and research. Louisiana is executing the first fully integrated ecosystem restoration project of its kind that will promote a sustainable coastal ecosystem and provide a viable working coast to support significant industries.

In addition, Louisiana’s importance to the United States is unequaled. The state is:

• A significant producer and transporter of oil and natural gas
• The single largest producer of blue crabs, shrimp and crawfish
• The country’s largest habitat for migratory waterfowl and songbirds
• Home to five of the top 15 ports by tonnage in the nation — the reach of Louisiana’s port system surpasses both that of New York and Los Angeles

According to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, Louisiana is projected to spend $1 billion to $2 billion per year for the next 50 years on water-related research and projects in marsh creation, protection systems, sediment diversion and restoration.

Innovation Streamlines Louisiana Water Systems

Established in 2012 in Baton Rouge, the Water Institute of the Gulf functions as an integrated, technology-focused entity to solve difficult water issues. In addition to coastal management and water systems, the institute studies changes in fisheries, vegetation, climate and sediment.

A not-for-profit independent research institute, the organization is dedicated to advancing the understanding of coastal and deltaic systems and to applying scientific and technological solutions for the benefit of society. The institute builds collaboration with public, private and academic partners to preserve and protect the U.S. Gulf Coast environment, a major source of human, natural and industrial resources. Additionally, the institute develops and shares cutting-edge technology with the goal of advancing water management efforts worldwide.

In December 2013, the Water Institute announced plans for the Water Campus in Baton Rouge. The 30-acre campus will house the Water Institute, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, public education exhibits, a River Modeling Center and more.

Public and private research efforts in Louisiana and the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetland Research Center conduct research to find solutions to water management challenges on an ongoing basis.

Many universities play a key role in this research:

• Louisiana State University’s School of the Coast and Environment is a leader in coastal science, engineering and modeling.
• University of Louisiana at Lafayette concentrates on species, ecosystem and hydrologic systems management.
• Tulane University’s areas of study include the impacts of sea-level change on coastal environments.
• Southern University has focus areas in both water resource management and bioremediation.
• Dillard University has an emerging environmental sciences program.

Louisiana’s Deep Talent Pool for Water Management

Louisiana is home to 122 firms with specific capabilities related to water management and Gulf Coast restoration projects. The talent pool that these firms represent covers all types of relevant skill sets, from highly professional equipment manufacturing to sophisticated design construction and transport services.

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LED FastStart Delivers Customized Workforce Solutions

LED FastStart®, the nation’s No. 1 state workforce development program, creates customized workforce recruitment, screening and training solutions for eligible new or expanding companies.

FastStart works with eligible Louisiana-based operations to ensure that companies have a highly qualified, trained workforce from day one – all at no cost to qualifying companies. FastStart has designed and delivered workforce solutions for a wide variety of Fortune 500 companies across multiple industry sectors.

Incentive Packages Customized for Your Business

Louisiana’s highly competitive incentives are offering both new and existing water management operations significant advantages.

• Louisiana’s Research and Development Tax Credit provides a tax credit of up to 40 percent on qualified research expenditures incurred in Louisiana — with no cap and no minimum requirement.
• In addition, the Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive — the nation’s strongest, most comprehensive incentive for software development — provides a unique advantage to the water management industry. The incentive is applicable to customer-facing software including modeling software for manufacturing/testing remote sensing instrumentation. Eligible projects receive a 25 percent refundable tax credit for payroll expenditures and an 18 percent refundable tax credit for qualified production expenditures. If the amount of tax credits exceeds the business’ state income and franchise tax liabilities, the business receives the balance as a refund.

A Business Climate Submerged in Success

At the core of Louisiana’s competitive advantages is the strength of its business climate. In recent years, the state has enacted reforms to create an atmosphere that Forbes magazine called “America’s new frontier for business opportunity.” Louisiana now ranks in the Top 10 states for business climate in the U.S., according to Area Development, Development Counsellors International and Site Selection.

Louisiana’s low-tax environment offers business operations significant cost savings. According to a 50-state analysis by the Tax Foundation and KPMG: Location Matters: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business, Louisiana's tax burden ranks among the top 10 lowest in the nation for new facilities, relocations, and facility expansions for a variety of firm types, including:

• labor-intensive manufacturing
• capital-intensive manufacturing
• research and development facilities
• corporate headquarters