Louisiana Spillway Opened to Relieve Flooding

Source: The New York Times

MORGANZA, La. — After declaring that “public safety is our No. 1 priority,” officials from the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza spillway, sending water from the engorged Mississippi River rushing into the pastures and cropland here to forestall potentially catastrophic damage farther downstream.

As Col. Ed Fleming, commander of the corps’ New Orleans district, had said beforehand, one bay of the giant structure was opened Saturday at 3 p.m. local time, sending water out at a predicted 10,000 cubic feet per second. If current forecasts hold, officials would eventually open enough bays to allow water out at 125,000 cubic feet per second, a quarter of the spillway’s capacity.

That diversion would relieve the already enormous pressure on the levee system as the river courses past Baton Rouge, New Orleans and a corridor of chemical plants and oil refineries. But it would also flood hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and thousands of homes, as it pours out into the Atchafalaya River basin. Evacuations have been taking place for days in the towns and communities throughout the basin, along with large scale operations to protect these towns with sand bags and other barriers.

The Morganza, one of four floodways in the Mississippi River and tributaries flood control system, has only been opened once, in 1973. “We’re using every flood control tool that we have in the system,” said Gen. Michael J. Walsh, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps of Engineers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/us/15spillway.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZinzITkSeqQ&feature=player_embedded


the first 20 to 30 seconds are not clear

(that we all remember from Katrina) was on there saying that Army Corps of Engineers had to do this because there's a Nuclear Plant and Chemical Factories that would be "underwater" if the flood waters are diverted.

"Hono're also said that it remains to be seen if the Levees in New Orleans can take the flood waters that could be there until August!

CNN seemed to be making a BIG DEAL of this ...compared to "The Weather Channel" which showed "Stephanie Abrams and a Cool Guy" testing Tents in Camping Grounds.

I would have thought "Weather Channel" would have sent a few people to Louisiana to Film and Report rather than running "Infommercials for Tent Companies" .....but, then what do I know? :eyes: After Comcast bought out GE the "Weather Channel" has become the site for "Rugged Outdoorists, Tornado and Storm Hunter Segments that run all weekend and...so it is what it is.

I just worry that if some catastrophe takes place...will the "Weather Channel" still be showing "cleavage and balls" in "Reality TV/or "Dock Block" kind of segments...or will they be reporting on what's REALLY GOING ON!

Anyone else notice how "cut up and segmented" our National Weather reporting has become since Comcast Bought out controlling interest from GE? Although GE still controls a huge portion of Comcast..

For a slow release the water came in pretty fast. I read they're doing this to protect oil refineries and chemical plants. Sad day in America when oil supercedes families and their homes.

http://www.examiner.com/architecture-design-in-national/corps-of-engineers-floods-cajun-country-to-protect-industries-below-sea-level

Sure, there is a lot of industrial development downstream. And flooding of those facilities would release a lot of nasty pollution into the Gulf. Not good.

There's also the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where the forecast without the Morganza is six inches below the levees...

Morgan City, and the Atchafalaya are going to take the hit.:shrug:

The forecast I read was for Nola it could be as bad as Katrina..but am so leary of the fear mongering..but certainly don't want to put lives in danger. It's just a bad situation. Thousands of homes are in jeopardy from this release. Where is that American exceptionalism when you need it.

Of flooded out chemical & oil facilities. There is also a nuclear plant not far from New Orleans, right on the Mississippi. We all know what happens to a flooded nuclear plant. My heart goes out to all of the people in the basin who are going to lose their homes , communities and way of life. I am as cynical ad they come, but I don't think they are opening the spillway for commercial reasons- the people of Louisiana have more experience with what floodwaters can do than almost anyone. My daughter goes to Tulane- she is home for the summer, but we are very worried about the levees, the people all along the river and everyone in Baton Rouge & New Orleans. Let's just all hope ( or pray if that's your thing) that the levees hold, that the people who are going to be affected by this can keep it together and get the help and support they will need in the weeks and months ahead.

In this day and age of satellites and unmanned surveillance/weapon release we haven't invested anything in better infrastructure. It's just a lose lose situation. Oil profits could certainly be used to fix this problem. I know people who moved into the area were aware this might happen but it doesn't take away the pain of it happening. Thank you for the input.

You would think after Katrina that this would have been addressed, but the affected people are poor so no one cares.

Oh yeah...that's the polar ice caps melting their way out the major drainages to the seas...

With the rain we have had this spring it had to go somewhere.

typical rainfall with huge amounts of snow before that?

No. The polar ice caps aren't melting their way into the Mississippi. :eyes:

I disagree. More water in the atmosphere from melting ice caps overall. Where do you think the melt is going?


http://www.climatecentral.org/news/explainer-is-climate-change-playing-a-role-in-mississippi-river-floods

We are having a cold wet rainy spring in the Pacific NW, too. Coincidence?

http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/crazy-weather-and-climate-do-dots-connect-30059/

Research and an open mind: work wonders!

I agree that global climate change is a problem and contributing to the weather we are having but polar ice caps melt into the ocean, not into the Mississippi. Global climate change causes awful weather and melts ice caps. Ice caps don't cause Mississippi flooding. Rather like dogs have fur. Cats have fur. Dogs are cats. Poor logic.

Learning logic and a civil mind : work wonders!

rising waters; a closed system. Third grade science. No need to parse on a perfectly lovely Sunday morning.

We are all connected...basic premise.

or please have mercy on serious people.

Causation: The water flooding the Mississippi is "the polar ice caps melting their way out the major drainages to the seas."

Correlation: Global climate change has many effects. Polar ice caps are melting, there are floods in some places, tornadoes in others, drought in others.

Global climate change causes flooding and causes polar ice caps melting. It is poor logic and poor "proof" to say what you did, that the Mississippi flooding is due to "the polar ice caps melting their way out the major drainages to the seas."

a correlation. I'm not sure my original post was a strong statement of proximate causation, per se.

Where does one suppose the water from the melting polar ice caps (happening at staggering speed, as reported by climate scientists) end up?

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1024-05.htm

No climate scientist, I, just an observer of obvious impacts and interrelation of human effects on our ecosystems.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4851362&mesg_id=4851969

Yes, the hydrologic cycle makes everything interconnected but, as I said, the water from the polar ice cap melting goes into the ocean.

PLUS: climate change leads to more flooding and more violent storms and weather events, worldwide.

:toast:

"polar ice caps melting their way out the major drainages to the seas" Ice Caps are already in the sea and the ice ashore is not melting its way down the Mississippi to the sea.

The Mississippi has been flooding for its entire history, and using this as proof of Global Warming is no better than using a cold winter or bad blizzard as proof that Global Warming doesn't exist.

Climate change is a reality, but using examples like this as "proof" is not scientific and, worse, is counter productive.

be proof of global climate change if it is bad weather. See?

:sarcasm:

Directly related? Definitely.

You might as well believe the floods are related to rain fairies. Science isn't about assumed relationships, it's about proof.

climate change / global warming is related to -- causes -- flooding, or that melting of the polar ice caps results in more water in our closed system overall...i.e., more precipitation.

Oops - my bad...

Science Fail.

Link one scientific article proving your Mississippi flood premise. Otherwise, well...