Thursday, Mar. 11
March 11, 2010
Pool safety course aims to keep public out of harms’ way
March 15, 2010
Col. Alvin B. “Al” Lee is ready to do war with floodwater.
The recent deluge of snow in the northern reaches of the country will likely cause high backwater flooding in south Louisiana’s unprotected low-lying areas: Amelia, Bayou Black and Gibson, as well as Bayou Boeuf, the district commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts.
Lee bases his opinion on studies of past high-water events, namely the 1927 and 1973 high flows of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. Both events sent floodwaters into local homes.
Following a recent inspection of neighboring communities, Lee shared his ominous outlook.
“In comparing the current flow of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers to these marks, which we call histograms, we have found that the total water flow of each of these rivers is somewhat exceeding the marks of where they were at this time in 1927 and 1973,” Lee explained. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to continue this way. But we typically do not see these numbers until late spring.
“There’s quite a bit of snowfall in the Missouri and Red River areas, so the potential is that there will be an extended high-water period for south Louisiana. Late spring, maybe even into early summer,” Lee added.
State Rep. Sam Jones, who represents St. Mary Parish, said Lee’s message is cause for “elevated concern.”
“I don’t think we can wait any longer,” he said. “We need to begin preparations now.”
Morgan city resident Larry Doiron, a contractor and business entrepreneur, was spared flooding in 1973 but remembers many of his neighbors in the unincorporated, unprotected areas of St. Mary were not as lucky.
The problem, he said, is that the Atchafalaya serves as an artery delivering the Mississippi’s flow to the Gulf of Mexico. “The river is extending longer and longer,” Doiron theorizes. “There’s less flood water, but more flooding.
“The Atchafalaya River is a ditch compared to the Mississippi River, and we’re responsible for getting 30 percent of the [river’s flow] to the Gulf of Mexico,” he explained. “The problem is we need a plan to plug up Bayou Boeuf to protect all the parishes concerned.”
In 1973, parish officials were forced to sink a barge in Bayou Chene to protect Morgan City and nearby areas from rising water.
The news came as a surprise to Terrebonne Parish levee district director Reggie Dupre, who was in high school at the time. Although he didn’t recall the barge sinking, he said the potential for flooding in St. Mary and stretches of Terrebonne Parish remains today.
“I can tell you that during [the 1973] flood, we had water from Gibson to Montegut – even to Savanne Road,” Dupre said. “We also had water between La. Highway 311 and La. Highway 182, particularly where the [Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office] driving range is now.”
Dupre met last week with Mike Stack, the corps’ chief emergency operations director in New Orleans. The feeling walking away from that meeting was equally cautious, he said.
“I think we’re going to have problems,” Dupre said. “And I think Bayou Black and the Gibson area are going to be impacted.”
However, the levee director stopped short of suggesting the water would equal or top the 1927 or 1973 levels.
“In no way do I think we’re going to see what we experienced in 1973,” he said.
Dupre said corps officials will likely have to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway. “But I do not see them opening the Morganza [Spillway],” he added.
Lee said once the Mississippi River reaches its maximum flow, the Bonnet Carre’s opening will send the overflow into Lake Pontchartrain.
If the lake reaches its maximum, the Morganza Spillway would be opened, he added.
The last time both the Bonnet Carre and Morganza spillways were opened simultaneously was in 1973, Lee noted.
“I hate to say this, but this whole scenario is going to depend on a lot of factors,” Lee said. “With saturated grounds, all the river basins full and continued rainfall, I don’t see how south Louisiana can avoid dealing with potential flooding.”
The extent of water flow in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers is also going to depend on regional rainfall to a large extent, Dupre said.
The El Nino affects being experienced up North also complicate the matter. The winds are pushing tides up and the backwater has remained from the Tri-parishes all the way to Pointe Coupee Parish, he explained.
“Who knows [what is ahead]? God. And He is the only one that knows what is going to happen when the snow melts,” Dupre said.
But state Sen. Butch Gautreaux isn’t as optimistic.
“I believe that this spring, we will have the most significant backwater flooding in the communities along lakes Verret and Palourde,” he said. “It’s time for those in harm’s way to take action in protecting property from anticipated flood waters. Unfortunately, that means moving personal property to higher ground.”
As the river water flows south, Gautreaux warns that every community along the Atchafalaya Basin will be impacted.
“In 2008, there was major flooding in Iberville Parish and that same water made its way south through three parishes. It finally found lower ground in the Gibson area.”
Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet is also urging Gibson and Bayou Black area residents to prepare. He predicts the Atchafalaya River will crest sometime this month.
“Our citizens can rest assured that we are monitoring the level of the Atchafalaya River on a daily basis and we stand ready to proactively meet this challenge,” Claudet said.
The parish has sandbag locations in the following locations:
• Gibson Fire Station, 110 Merry Moss St.
• East Gibson Fire Station, 5218 N. Bayou Black Drive
• Donner-Chacahoula Fire Station, 1805 La. Highway 20 in Schriever
• Bayou Black Fire Station, 2820 Savanne Road in Houma
• Schriever Volunteer Fire Department, 1529 West Park Ave. in Schriever
The sandbag sites are expected to remain open throughout March, Claudet said.
