Tag: Flood of 2011

Old River Control Structure

This is the gate on the Mississippi/Red River confluence that is the source of the Achafalaya River. At the moment it is flowing at nearly 300,000 CPS. This is as much as Morganza with all the bays open, and three…

Morganza – too late, still too little?

Morganza is slowing being opened. The projected crests  downstream have been revised, but as the previous post illustrates, the projected crests still leave very high water from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. We can debate (and will) the Corps decision…

Water Levels in South Lousiana

The state has closed access to the levees all along the Mississippi. This makes getting pictures of the water level more difficult. This was taken on the West Levee opposite the old ferry landing in St. Francisville, LA. This is…

The Mississippi River and Tributaries Project

The Mississippi River & Tributaries Project:Controlling the Flow – a description of the operation of the lower Mississippi flood control plan. (accessed May 8, 2011)

This is the Army Corps of Engineers explanation of the Mississippi River flood control system and how it would be used to control a flood. It details the the use of the floodways and the river flow levels that will trigger their use.[…]

Mississippi River Flood of 2011

At least as to river heights, the Flood of 2011 may be second or third largest Mississippi River Flood in modern times. Total volume of the flood is hard to compare because the river and the tributaries are more constrained than in the past. Water in a leveed river will be much higher than in a river without levees where it can spread out horizontally.

Projected flood heights – NOAA (Morganza floodway projections)[…]

The Control of Nature – Morganza Spillway

John McPhee has written a fascinating history of the River Control Structure at Morganza. While it is not clear that the Mississippi still wants to go down the Atchafalaya, losing the River Control Structure in a flood would still be a…

Blowing the Mississippi Levee – 2011

This post reviews the ongoing legal issues in the blowing of the levee at Birds Point. While the levee has not been blown since 1937, this was also litigated in 1984.