skymike

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?

SmashMouth

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.

skymike

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

yeah, anyone got pics of the spillway?

Srgt. Hulka

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.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, ...

foreverfan

Bonnet Carre Spillway Is Open - WWL - AM870

Srgt. Hulka

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.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, ...

skymike

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.

Srgt. Hulka

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.

YeahYouRight

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.

skymike

thats true.

did he just call me numbnuts?