With Mississippi River water levels projected to overtop the Morganza Control Structure on June 5, Governor John Bel Edwards announced that the opening of the 1954-built structure will begin on Sunday, June 2.
Flood levels in the Mississippi River have set all-time records, and on May 20, the 92-year-old record of 135 days above flood stage at Baton Rouge was broken. Higher than normal water levels are expected to persist through July.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made the final decision last Friday to open the first gate on June 2.
Morganza’s 125 gates are designed to divert up to 600,000 gallons per second from the Mississippi into the 20-mile long Morganza Floodway that opens into the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway at Krotz Springs. It was first operated in 1973 and not again until 2011. In both instances it remained open for about two months.
The decision to open Morganza has severe consequences for agriculture, wildlife and private camps in the Basin. Besides St. Martin Parish, areas of Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Mary, Iberia, Iberville, and Terrebone Parishes are affected. About 25,000 acres of crops will probably be lost in the upper ares of the Basin.
The spillway cannot be operated safely after water overtops the control structure. The opening must begin several days before overtopping is forecast to allow one gate to be opened per day for the first three days, causing a gradual rise in the Basin. A rise of no more than one foot per day is intended to allow as much wildlife as possible to find its way out of the rising water.
Bayou Chene
News came last Friday afternoon that the St. Mary Levee District is making preparations to move the Bayou Chene flood control barge into place for the fourth time. The barge, located at the point where the bayou meets the Atchafalaya River near Amelia, is designed to limit backflow flooding in areas of Lower St. Martin, Iberville, St. Mary, Terrebone and Assumption Parishes.
It needs to be in place ahead of the arrival of water from the Morganza opening. Flood water usually reaches that point ten days to two weeks after the spillway’s opening.
The Bayou Chene
barge is normally moored
alongside the bayou and is swung into place when needed. The simple-sounding operation, however, is actually a major undertaking. The barge is secured between two permanent wing walls and concrete rubble has to be filled in to secure it and stop water flow.
Setting the barge in place and removing it costs more than $1 million, which will be paid with Costal Protection and Restoration Act funds.
Corps officials were scheduled to hold a public meeting in Butte La Rose yesterday (Tuesday) evening and will meet with stakeholders in the Morgan City area today (Wednesday) at 10 a.m.
