BONNET CARRIE SPILLWAY opens this morning / how are YOU doing?
 

So I hear they're opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway this morning at 8am. Apparently, this is a pretty cool sight, as media and the public is invited to view. This thing fascinates me. In fact Louisiana water/flood control fascinates me.

If you dont know about this, you might find fascinating also:

-- This is only the 9th time the Bonnet Carre has been opened, since 1937. A fairly rare event-- to avoid overburdening the levees around N.O.

-- The Bonnet Carre Spillway is about ? what, you tell me, about 1 mile wide? Its normally just a piece of government land between the Mississippi R. and Lake Ponchatrain, that happens to have this massive, but not very tall, long series of floodgates over it.

--99% of the time people hunt, fish, train dogs, crawfish, ride 4-wheelers, and just do basic redneck stuff there, because the govt. says its open to everybody who wants to play in it. -- so long as it's not being flooded.

-- They have to use a crane thing to open the gates.

-- Its really cool to watch it being opened.

-- After they close the gates again, and the land starts to dry, the crawfishing is off the charts.

I hear it opens at 8am this morning.

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Now, on the topic of MS. River flooding:

-- unfortunately, in my opinion, theyre also forced to open the Morganza Spillway upriver of Baton Rouge.

-- This means the Atchafalaya Basin will get a massive amount of extra water.

-- I'm guessing a lot of people in the Basin are not happy with this. I dont know if it threatens their homes, but I know at the least, camphouses are going to be gone. Im guessing this means a major water event all the way down to Morgan City?

-- The Morganza Spillway hasnt been opened in 40 years. Does anyone else wonder if everything will work right, or if something has rusted, and will malfunction?

So how are you affected? Is there anyone here close enough to the Mississippi to be worried. Or is anyone here in the Basin? Whats going on?

My wife and I ran a couple of races there over the years .... and I think there is an adventure race there now also ... guess there'll be more swimming events now for a while?

If someone has pics, that could be cool if they could be posted for us WhoDats to see from afar.

wow I didnt know that, Smash. thanks. Leave it to you to tell about something interesting.

yeah, anyone got pics of the spillway?

Mike, this Mississippi River flooding is very VERY serious! I don’t know about the southern half of Louisiana, but up north could see a flood like no one has seen since 1927. If the levies fail up near Vicksburg, You could see floodwater from the Mississippi River all the way to Monroe. Anyone east of Monroe could go under water. I have in-laws that live just north of Columbia, and they are already getting things together, and they live 60 miles, as the crow flies, from the Mississippi River. I told them to photograph everything they have and mail me the camera.

I used to have a next-door neighbor that grew up in Monroe. He was 92 years old in 1995. He remembered the flood of 1927. He told me that you could drive a boat from Monroe all the way to Vicksburg. And this flood is supposed to be worse than that. This is serious! If you have family in East Louisiana, tell them to please pay close attention to this.

You were talking about the Atchafalaya Basin. I heard on the radio this morning that they are expecting the water to be so high that it will be touching the bottom of the structure on the I-10 causeway over the Atchafalaya River and Basin. That is serious. I know there are a lot of people that live in that basin area. I will pray for them.

My point is: Take this seriously. Don’t let your guard down, and please be prepared. I’m afraid it’s going to be bad.

You and me both Strat. I'm hoping it's just media sensationalism and it doesn't get as bad here in Louisiana as they are saying, but with this kind of stuff, you can't take the chance. This could be like Katrina. People have had more than a week of being told it's coming. I just hope people are doing somthing to help themselves. I have a brother-in-law that works for the highway department in Richland Parish. He is on 24 hour call in case he is needed to help direct people out of the parish.

I dont think it is sensationalism, Hulka, in fact, I think much of the media is falling asleep on this one. I might be the only news guy in Houston that grasps or even seems to care what happens to the Atchafalaya Basin, East La, and MS. God forbid a levee fails, but I think if one does right now, its gonna catch most newsdesks off guard, in this neck of the woods. Its like my colleagues are watching Dancing w. the Stars or something.

My prayers are with those of you in the Basin, and along all the levees, and as always with New Orleans, too. I do know that without opening the Morganza, the River along the CBD is supposed reach 19.5. And the levee holds 20ft. Plus they had to stop the reinforcement on the Algiers side, so the last thing we need between now and June is a tropical storm.

I dont think we're being alarmist here, in fact, I think many of us outside the MS Valley, River Parishes, and Atch. Basin are falling asleep. Thanks for the tipoff, Hulka. I will continue to give voice to this situation around here.

Thanks Mike. I hope the worst doesn't come to pass, but if it does, these people are going to need all the help they can get.

If the Morganza opens, and there is a major malfunction (numbnuts), then we may not have to worry about the Bonnet Carre because the river may finally accomplish what it's been trying to do for quite a while now, which is take over the Atch Basin.

thats true.

did he just call me numbnuts?

Not sure .... meanwhile ... some actual pictures!

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...5-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...3-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...0-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...8-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...6-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...4-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...1-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...8-standard.jpg

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...4-standard.jpg



http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...7-standard.jpg

More where they come from ...

Bonnet Carre Spillway opens as Mississippi River swells | NOLA.com

Not calling anybody here numbnuts, just figured it was an apropos term anytime the ACE was brought up. :)

Funny... Isn't that what your second wife call you?

http://www.cookingwithleo.com/oyster%20po%20boy.JPG

I wish to high heaven my nuts were numb, where my 2nd wife is concerned. I'm still paying that b*t*h.

And btw, you've PO'd me royally with that oyster po boy picture. Now I'm hungry, no thanks to you. really hungry. not to mention homesick for my other home, New Orleans. oysters!

Great pictures, FF. Now I know more. The spillway uses cross tie looking pieces to literally hold the water. Thats crazy. And do you think those 5 guys in the picture realize how important they are? These 5 guys control the fate of 1/3 of the U.S. water drainage. They're changing the flow of the river, affecting all these cities and farms.

I sure hope it works, and I hope they dont have to open Morganza.

Memphis destruction already estimated at 320 million.

Fixed it for ya.... gotta give credit to the actual picture poster after all.... lol ...

Dey don't have oyster poboys in Houston?

No need thanking me Mike... Just finished off a big shrimp poboy from the Amce Oyster House for lunch. :D
So what are you sayin? I should have got the oysters? :confused:



The Morganza Spilway is to insure that Baton Rouge and lands between the Bonne Carre Spillway don't flood. The Bonne Carre Spillway will more then take care of New Orleans since it is about 3 times the river width. They open the BCS about every 8 years. It's no big deal since it doesn't do anything but flush out the lake with fresh water and produce a giant alge bloom and fish kill.

Still, the lake bounces back quickly and is usually better than before.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-tluutf_F7...rimp_poboy.jpg

ah, great pics, Smash.

hope everybody's doing ok.

My word. theyre opening the Morganza. Those poor folks in the Basin.

Last open in 1973. It floods a giant area. People knew they were building on a flood plain.

Corps of Engineers Flood Inundation Map

In partnership with state and local leaders, the Corps has developed an Inundation Map to depict anticipated impacts from operation of the Morganza Floodway. As floodwaters progress through the Morganza Floodway to the Gulf of Mexico, the height of the water could reach between five (5) and upwards of twenty-five (25) feet above ground elevation, causing widespread flooding and inundation.

Corps of Engineers Flood Inundation Map | Baton Rouge News


http://www.batonrougetoday.com/wp-co...dation_map.jpg

man, thats unreal. Thanks Hulka for bringing out something I couldnt find anywhere else.

I never realized you were that much of an old fart.... that would make you over 100. What's your secret? :mrgreen:

What Failure of the Morganza Spillway Would Mean To La. Life As We Know It
by Steve Wilkerson on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 2:18am

The Morganza Spillway flood control structure in Pointe Coupee Parish could open as early as Saturday but it could be delayed until Tuesday, May 17, depending on conditions, the Mississippi River Commission president said Monday. “If we operate Morganza, there won’t be overtopping. If we don’t operate Morganza … about three miles south of Baton Rouge, we will have significant overtopping there. LSU and a couple of other significant infrastructure would be inundated,” said U.S. Army Maj. General Michael Walsh of the Army Corps of Engineers.[1]

The Morganza Spillway was opened for the first and only time in 1973 to relieve pressure from the Old River Control Structure (ORCS). [2][3] The spillway received minor scouring and slight damage to the stilling basin. After the 1973 flood, the structure was restored to its original condition.

In 2008, a flood caused portions of the levee at the spillway to deteriorate and sent floodwaters into cropland located within the floodway. It is because of this damage to the levées around the spillway and the extent to which the structure itself was undermined by just the '73 test that the Morganza Spillway has never been opened since, though it would have been useful during several subsequent years to relieve pressure on the Old River Control Structure.

Studies by the Army Corps of Engineers after the test determined that once opened, it would likely never close again, and could be ripped from its footings, allowing the Mississippi River to jump its banks and flow primarily through the Atchafalaya Basin.

While this would leave New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Port of New Orleans practically high and dry, the Atchafalaya Basin would become the the main artery of the Mississippi River below Morganza and several cities along the bucolic Atchafalaya River would be flooded and a new delta would begin forming immediately. The failure of the Morganza structure would be disastrous beyond imagination for the residents of south Louisiana and international commerce

I dont think the average person realizes what Louisiana is up against right now. And of course, Miss River commerce will impact the entire nation.

(Hey Smash, I tried to call you while ago, return your call. good to hear from you brother. And yeah... we're boiling bugs again. Will shout at ya
later, I have 2 gigs to get ready for, and Im on the air. )

Thanks for the update.

FF, thats just unbelievable.

Think that's bad...

I went to Acme Oyster house today to get an oyster poboy and they were $16.50 for a regular poboy.
Needless to say I had to get the Shrimp for $9.95.

I blame Obama. :doh:

I just drove out to the Butterfly (for those not in New Orleans, it's a riverside park) and looked at the river... it is HIGH. At least 10 feet above where it usually is, and my guess was that it is moving about 15 miles an hour as opposed to its usual four.... if that's anywhere close to correct it would mean there's about 5 times as much water just flowing through N.O. as you see on a typical day. Kind of scary for those of us who live here.

Im scared for you, dude. I saw this picture: (attached)

I know how high that levee is, and how far over street level the river is, and how much rock should be showing. freaky. You guys, along with those in the Basin are in our prayers.