Update3: Spillway indefinitely delayed

Upstream floodwaters flowing toward a swollen Mississippi River will require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open its rarely used Morganza Spillway in Louisiana on June 2 – after saying weeks ago it had “no intention” of funneling part of the river's flow into the Atchafalaya Basin from Morganza to Morgan City. CoE announced last week it would be opening the 65-year-old spillway for only the third time in its history. In coastal Mississippi, Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich called a meeting of mayors May 28 to gather facts and to see what can be done to protect South Mississippi from another reopening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway above New Orleans for the third time this year. The 90-minute meeting concluded with a plan to turn up pressure on Jackson (Miss.) and Washington, D.C., and get action to protect the coast’s water, seafood and economy. The releases have no benefit to Mississippi, only adverse effects. The releases have dropped the salinity in the Mississippi Sound, which is usually in the upper teens, said Joe Newell with DRM, but now it is down to two in some locations. “It’s river water,” said Moby Solangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport. The river brings pollution and pesticides from 31 states and two Canadian provinces that are creating dead zones. Shrimp sampling shows a large decrease and may delay the opening of the season. “I think it’s even worse than the BP oil spill” in 2010, Solangi said. “We had 91 dead dolphins … during the oil spill. As of today, we have 98 and counting” along with 143 dead turtles. “Yes, Louisiana needs to protect its resources, its habitat and its population,” Solangi said. But he said Mississippi gets the flood water first and the problem is getting worse. (Source: Biloxi Sun Herald 05/28/19) UPDATE: Plans to open the Morganza Spillway have been put off until June 6 - four days later because the river’s rising more slowly than expected, according to an Army Corps of Engineers' (CoE) media release. The delay will avoid putting more water into the Atchafalaya Basin. The opening had been planned for June 2. UPDATE 2: The CoE announced June 3 that it has delayed the opening a second time - until June 10 - to divert part of the flow of the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin to reduce the chance of levees being overtopped in Baton Rouge. This second delay is the result of breaches and overtopping of levees along the Arkansas River, with the escaping floodwaters slowing the rise of the Arkansas as it enters the Mississippi, and slowing that river’s rise downstream. UPDATE 3: The CoE has delayed opening the Morganza Spillway above Baton Rouge indefinitely in response to slightly better forecasts for water heights at the spillway and upriver, corps spokesman Ricky Boyett said June 6.