News - State
High Water in Mississippi River Heading for Louisiana
Posted: Apr 29, 2011 7:00 PM by Melissa Hawkes
Updated: Apr 29, 2011 7:02 PM
Water flowing from the Mississippi River is reaching record breaking highs in Illinois and according to officials the high water is heading right for us.
Governor Jindal declared a state of emergency yesterday.
Mike Stagg, spokesperson with the Army Corps of Engineers, said Louisiana "is starting to see a little bit of a rise, but nothing significant so far."
He said the water in New Orleans has risen a foot and a half in the past week and waters in Morgan City are half a foot higher. If necessary, the first line of defense will be opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway in New Orleans, which will empty the water into Lake Pontchartrain.
Governor Jindal said "it is likely we will have to open the spillway to relieve some water on the levees."
If the Bonnet Carre Spillway doesn't provide enough relief and water is continuing to rise in the Baton Rouge area, then the last step will be opening up the Morganza Spillway in Point Coupee Parish. The Morganza Spillway is typically closed. If it is opened, hundreds of thousands of land will flood-mainly in the Atchafalaya Basin. It's something that hasn't happened since 1927.
Stagg said, "the flow that controls the Morganza Spillway is 1.5 cubic feet of water passing on the Mississippi side and based on predictions by the National Weather Service we don't expect that to happen."
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