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BONNET CARRE SPILLWAY

The US Army Corps of Engineers will open the Bonnet Carre Spillway tomorrow (April 11th).  Their decision is based on the current measured flow rate of the Mississippi River at 1.26 million cubic feet
per second (cfs).  Flood flow at New Orleans is 1.25 million cfs.  The spillway will have a 50,000 cfs discharge (20% of its 250,000 cfs capacity).  That amount of water would fill the Superdome one and
a half times every hour or 36 times a day. 

Leakage has been ongoing for several weeks.  River water is already apparent in the southwest quadrant
of the lake.  The Corps anticipates the Spillway to remain open from 2 to 4 weeks. 

Hopefully this event will not be of the magnitude/duration of 1997 opening.  Initial impacts will be muddy water and marine species moving ahead of the river water east toward the passes.  The real problems
(algae blooms) could come as the water temperatures increase in June.  Monitoring sites are being established in the spillway, two sites on the Causeway, and on both the Chef and Rigolets.

This Mississippi River high water/flood could have been a tremendous opportunity for coastal wetland preservation.  Directing the water’s flow into the wetlands east and west of the spillway would have provided fresh water, nutrients and sediments to these areas.  Instead it’s not only a missed opportunity
but will increase the potential for dead zones in Lake Pontchartrain.  (See map.)

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