|
Welcome to Armageddon Online - Disaster News, Future Scenarios, Preparedness and Survival |
|
|
|
|
|
The Importance of the Morganza Spillway |
|
The News -
Climate-Environment
|
|
May 12, 2011 |
The Mississippi is a bloated beast of a river that has already reached record stages in 21 locations along the Lower Mississippi River basin, flooded towns in parts of Mississippi and is now set to make a final surge into south-central and southeast Louisiana. How flooding shakes out across southern Louisiana all rests upon one key component - the . It's just a matter of time before the flood gates are opened but the decision to open the Morganza is not an easy one to make. That decision is in the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers.
When the Morganza is opened, you are purposely flooding some to save many. Yes, you may save Baton Rouge and New Orleans from waters spilling into those cities however you are creating widespread inundation of the Atchafalaya Basin. [ weather ]
[Senior meteorologist Jon Erdman has more on the consequences of Morganza Spillway opening and analysis on other spillways in the Lower Mississippi River basin including the Bonnet Carre.]
The Washington Post reports that the Army Corps is faced with a choice, a choice where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
On Twitter: Mississippi River flooding
Do you cause a flood that would drown the livelihoods of central Louisiana farmers and fishermen, or let the high river roll and frantically sandbag 200 miles of levees to try to prevent flooding in the state’s two biggest cities, Baton Rouge and New Orleans (and farther downstream into Plaquemines Parish).
Per the New Orleans' Times Picayune, if the Morganza Floodway is not opened to funnel 300,000 cubic feet per second of water from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya River basin, the additional water could cause levees to fail along the river from Morganza to Plaquemines Parish, including all of the New Orleans area, resulting in as much as 25 feet of floodwater, according to a map provided to state officials by the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday.
Read: What is the cause of this flooding?
The Washington Post quotes Oliver Houck, a law professor at Tulane University who has long been involved with the spillway, "They’re going to have to open up Morganza, not for the height, but for the pressure on the levees, it's going to remain high for weeks and weeks. And that’s the scare. All it takes is one weak spot"...in a levee to flood New Orleans.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is still awaiting permission from the Mississippi River Commission to open the Morganza floodway. In a news conference Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the spillway is likely to be opened Saturday.
As of Thursday, Jindal stated in a press conference that he still hasn't heard from USACE on whether the Morganza Spillway will be opened but he advised people to assume that it will be opened.
The trigger for opening the Morganza is when the flow of water by the Spillway exceeds a threshold of 1.5 million cubic feet per second. That threshould is predicted to be met on Saturday, May 14.
Without the opening of the Morganza, the Mississippi River will reach a crest of 19.5 feet on May 23 at the Carrollton Gauge in New Orleans, which is 2.5 feet above official flood stage and just 6 inches below the top of floodwalls.
Per The Times-Picayune, levees in the New Orleans area are being monitored by law enforcement 24 hours a day, both for seepage, and to keep sightseers in vehicles away. Residents are asked to report any signs of standing or bubbling water.
Opening the Morganza floodway would lower river levels about 2.5 feet at New Orleans, and about 2 feet at Baton Rouge.
News: Thousands of acres flooded; New Orleans anxious
Still, there's the other side of the coin.
During a news conference in Baton Rouge, Gov. Bobby Jindal urged residents in affected areas (especially the Atchafalaya Basin) to prepare for evacuations if called for by their local elected leaders.
"Based on various inundation maps, you're looking at roughly 3 million acres that will be impacted, be underwater," when the floodway opens, Jindal said. "That includes about 18,000 acres of cropland just within the Atchafalaya basin." Morgan City and other population centers in Acadiana are protected by floodwalls.
The Weather Channel will have continuing coverage on this developing situation and weather.com will post updates on our Flood Tracker page. |
|
