CoE reviewing spillway reopening

The Army Corps of Engineers is again reviewing whether to reopen the Bonnet Carre Spillway to reduce the flow of water past New Orleans, after National Weather Service forecasters said May 7 that the river will rise to 16.9 feet at the Carrollton Gage on May 25, and stay at that level for six days, according to CoE spokesperson Ricky Boyett. The river had again risen to 16.6 feet in New Orleans, less than a half foot below the official flood stage of 17 feet. Levees and floodwalls protect NOLA from water levels of 20 and 22 feet. “We are reviewing probable operation (of the spillway) as this forecast indicates surpassing the Bonnet Carre Spillway trigger,” Boyett said. The trigger for opening the spillway is linked to the flow of water moving past the Carrollton Gage at greater than 1.25M cubic feet per second, not just nearing the 17-foot flood stage. If it were to reopen, it would be the first time that the spillway was operated more than once in the same calendar year, and the fifth time it was opened in a single decade. The spillway was opened Feb. 27, the 13th time in its history, and closed April 11. Officials opened 206 of its 350 bays. The Weather Prediction Center is predicting more rain in key areas along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers through seven days, with some locations expecting to receive between 5 to 7 inches of rainfall. The CoE is tracking 260 locations along Mississippi and Atchafalaya river levees in Louisiana. This year’s problem locations include 125 seepage sites and six locations where water is leaking through levees on the protected side. Two locations are considered high priority and 38 are mediums. Corps officials do not release the location of problem areas because of security concerns. (Source: NOLA.com 05/07/19) Mississippi officials claimed the February to April reopening of the spillway caused marine deaths along its coastal region.