Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays - It was fully closed 43 days later on Monday, June 20

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Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Published: Monday, May 09, 2011, 7:49 AM Updated: Monday, May 09, 2011, 8:59 AM



Brett Duke, The Times-PIcayuneArmy Corps of Engineers officials remove the first needles from the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, La., Monday, May 9, 2011.<!-- IE6 HACK --><!-- IE6 HACK -->

Nearly an hour after the first pin was pulled from the Bonnet Carre Spillway structure, Corps officials have opened four bays. The plan is to open 28 of the structure's 350 bays today.

More...

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/05/corps_set_to_open_28_spillway.html

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

The Bonnet Carre Spillway Story

http://<IFRAME height=349 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6kBJtRJaEYE" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen></IFRAME>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kBJtRJaEYE

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

http://www.wwltv.com/news/river-watc...121532679.html

wwltv.com
Crowds concerned as spillway opens
Posted on May 9, 2011 at 5:25 PM

Updated today at 5:29 PM

Bill Capo / Eyewitness News

RESERVE, La. -- Opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway is designed to prevent a disaster, but the event, just the tenth opening since the spillway was completed in 1931, drew an excited crowd, complete with armchairs, blankets, refreshment and children....

(Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, a prominent regional Gulf oil disaster advocate is interviewed both in the article and in the video.)

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

More gates opening at Bonnet Carre Spillway

Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 12:40 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 4:11 PM

By Matt Scallan, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune


An additional 44 bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway are being opened today, increasing the number of bays opened to 72. The spillway has 350 bays.

The action will increase the flow of water through the spillway from about 20,000 cubic feet per second to about 70,000, according to spillway manager Chris Brantley.
...

The river at the Carrollton gauge in New Orleans rose past the 17-foot flood stage at 1 p.m. today and is expected to rise further unless the Morganza Spillway near Simmesport is opened, as requested by Col. Ed Fleming, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District.

Full text:

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/05/more_gates_opening_at_bonnet_c.html

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Corps opening 38 more bays along Bonnet Carre Spillway

<TABLE><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>Reported by: WIRE and STAFF reports
Last Update: 12:25 pm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Excerpt:

The Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of opening 38 more bays along the Bonnet Carre Spillway. The total number of bays open by the end of the day will be 110. The corps began opening the spillway on Monday. The second floodway, Morganza, is upriver from Baton Rouge and could be opened this weekend. That decision could be made as early as today. The state has asked for three days notice if the corps decides to open Morganza.

Full text:

http://www.fox8live.com/mostpopular/story/Corps-opening-38-more-bays-along-Bonnet-Carre/0sKvq90ulk-oVgqcASAT-Q.cspx

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

BONNET CARRE CURRENT INFORMATION

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was partially opened on Monday, May 9, 2011 in order to keep the volume of the Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs). By the end of Thursday, May 12th a total of 223 bays will be opened. The Corps will continue to monitor the Mississippi River flow, and will open additional bays as needed.

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/bcarre/missriver.asp

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

BONNET CARRE CURRENT INFORMATION

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was partially opened on Monday, May 9, 2011 in order to keep the volume of the Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs). By the end of Friday, May 13th a total of 264 bays will be opened. The Corps will continue to monitor the Mississippi River flow, and will open additional bays as needed.

[...]

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/bcarre/missriver.asp

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays


Bonnet Carre Spillway opening (day 1)

By Team New Orleans, US Army Corps of Engineers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37671998@N05/5710112356/in/photostream/

BONNET CARRE CURRENT INFORMATION

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was partially opened on Monday, May 9, 2011 in order to keep the volume of the Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs). By the end of Saturday, May 14th a total of 300 bays will be opened. The Corps will continue to monitor the Mississippi River flow, and will open additional bays as needed.

[...]

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/bcarre/missriver.asp

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

BONNET CARRE CURRENT INFORMATION

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was partially opened on Monday, May 9, 2011 in order to keep the volume of the Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs). By the end of Sunday, May 15th a total of 330 bays will be opened. The Corps will continue to monitor the Mississippi River flow, and will open additional bays as needed.

[...]

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/bcarre/missriver.asp

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Mississippi River shooting through Bonnet Carre Spillway faster than expected

Published: Monday, May 16, 2011, 9:05 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 10:35 AM

By Matt Scallan, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

A week after the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, the height and pressure of the Mississippi River is shooting water through the spillway well above its rated capacity.

Even though only 330 of its 350 bays are open, an estimated 316,000 cubic feet of water per second is passing through the control structure, more than the structure?s rated capacity of 250,000 cfs, spillway manager Chris Brantley said Monday.

The spillway was designed to divert as much as 250,000 cubic feet of water per second away from New Orleans. It is opened whenever the volume in the river is expected to surpass 1.25 million cubic feet of water per second.

The extra flow is driven by the river?s height, he said.

Each cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons, which means that more than 8.5 billion gallons of water per hour is moving toward Lake Pontchartrain.

More...
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/05/mississippi_river_shooting_thr.html

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Sediment Plume in Lake Pontchartrain



(607 KB, JPEG) acquired May 17, 2011
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<!-- AddThis Button END --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> var addthis_options = 'email, digg, delicious, myspace, google, facebook, live, twitter, stumbleupon, more'; var addthis_exclude = 'print'; var addthis_offset_top = 3; var addthis_offset_left = -9; var addthis_hover_delay = 400; var addthis_localize = { share_caption: "Share this image" }; // var addthis_config = { data_use_flash: false }; </SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a5e804627659a64"></SCRIPT>The Bonnet Carr? Spillway delivered a plume of thick sediment to Louisiana?s Lake Pontchartrain in mid-May 2011. Taken on May 17, 2011, this astronaut photo shows a muddy plume in the lake, as well as the sediment-clogged Mississippi River meandering through the city of New Orleans. Water flowing through the spillway into Lake Pontchartrain is also muddy brown.

The Bonnet Carr? Spillway, Morganza Floodway, and breached levee near Cairo, Illinois, all diverted some of the flood waters from the Mississippi River in the spring of 2011. The diversion measures aimed to lessen the damage caused by an unusually severe spring flood season.

The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS) of the U.S. National Weather Service reported that the Mississippi River at New Orleans reached 17.05 feet (5.20 meters) at 9:00 a.m. CDT on May 20, 2011. This was just above the flood stage for this location, of 17.0 feet (5.18 meters), and well below the record flood level of 21.3 feet (6.5 meters), set in 1922. The Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, meanwhile reached 44.71 meters (13.63 feet) at 9:00 a.m. CDT on May 20, the AHPS reported. This qualified as major flooding for the Mississippi at that location, but it was below the record flood level of 47.3 meters (14.4 feet) set in 1927. Mississippi River water levels were projected to remain fairly steady at both locations through May 25, 2011.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=50674

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Water washes away part of railroad by Bonnet Carre Spillway

<TABLE><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>Reported by: Kim Holden, Anchor
Email: kholden@fox8tv.net
Contributor: Travis Alford, Photographer
Last Update: 5/23 11:16 pm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

LaPlace - High water has train traffic halted over the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

River water rushing through the spillway washed out part of a railroad bridge that runs parallel to Interstate 10. A portion of the train track running between Kenner and LaPlace is damaged the result of high water that has rushed into the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

More... + video:

http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/river-flooding-bonnet-carre-railroad/M3zLi0DFgU-wBhuiQOfFGg.cspx

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

Biologists: River Water Changing Lake Pontchartrain

Falling Salinity Killing Fish, Ruining Fishing Industry

POSTED: 11:18 pm CDT May 23, 2011
UPDATED: 11:46 pm CDT May 23, 2011

NEW ORLEANS -- With river water rushing through the Bonne Carre spillway, Lake Pontchartrain is changing.

The water is turning to a muddy brown color and what was once saltwater is freshwater.

Biologists said they expected this would happen by the end of this week, but it's happened more quickly.

...

The biologist said that may be the cause of a fish kill in a nearby Slidell canal. About 30 catfish, drum and redfish were found by a fisherman early Monday.

Lopez said even with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water rushing into Lake Pontchartrain, a fish kill this early is a little surprising. Usually it takes a few more weeks for something like that to develop.


Full text:

http://www.wdsu.com/news/28000365/de...#ixzz1NHHIoGCg

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100&#37;"><TBODY><TR><TD>
Bonnet Carre Spillway closed to recreation



</TD></TR><TR><TD>Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2011</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Safety is the Corps’ number one priority. This holiday weekend, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District Commander, Colonel Edward Fleming, reminds citizens that the primary purpose of the Bonnet Carre Spillway is flood control and that areas in the spillway should not be used for recreation while the structure is in operation.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

“The Corps, the U.S. Coast Guard and our partners are working together to fight the Mississippi River flood,” said Mike Stack, Chief of Emergency Management. “Public safety is our top priority and we have approximately 293,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Mississippi River currently flowing through the spillway into Lake Pontchartrain. Any boating or other water-based activities in the area of the spillway are extremely unsafe.”
<o:p></o:p>

The U.S. Coast Guard oversees regulation of water-based activities. The operation of the spillway structure has prompted the Coast Guard to declare a safety zone in Lake Pontchartrain at the spillway.
<o:p></o:p>
“The safety zone is needed to protect people and vessels from the potential safety hazards of the Bonnet Carre Spillway flow,” said LT Brian Sattler, U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. “It is unlawful and unsafe to recreate near the spillway.”
<o:p></o:p>

Failure to comply with the safety zone is punishable by a fine of up to $32,500. Willful violation of this order is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years of possible imprisonment.
<o:p></o:p>

Recreational access to the spillway will return once the Mississippi River water levels have subsided and the Corps has deemed it safe. Visitors are allowed to view the spillway at project office, located at 16302 River Rd in Norco, LA.


http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/news/view.asp?ID=484

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Re: Louisiana - Corps begins opening Bonnet Carre Spillway bays - It was fully closed 43 days later on Monday, June 20

BONNET CARRE CURRENT INFORMATION

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was partially opened on Monday, May 9, 2011 in order to keep the volume of the Mississippi River flows at New Orleans from exceeding 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs). It was fully closed 43 days later on Monday, June 20. The recreational areas of the spillway will be open; however, members of the public should use caution when accessing the area and be aware of water hazards, wildlife, such as snakes and alligators, as well as excessive heat and humidity.

Personal Floatation Devices are required to be worn while in a boat and should be worn while walking/wading in or around waterways and pools of water in the spillway. Members of the public are advised to stay out of areas of swift current to prevent the possibility of being pulled into the water. Please contact a park ranger or the park office if wildlife poses a danger to yourself or others.

The Corps of Engineers will begin to issue special use permits allowing public access of all terrain vehicles (ATV?s) throughout the spillway for recreational fishing and crawfishing for one month starting on Friday, June 24th. ATV?s will be permitted only for crawfishing, fishing and crabbing in an effort to accommodate the public demand. These special use permits will allow access to areas that were impacted during the recent spillway opening.

Road conditions are expected to be poor and the use of ATV?s will reduce further road damage. Roads will eventually be repaired and rocked for car and truck access. ATV operators and passengers must wear a DOT approved helmet and must possess the necessary gear for fishing.

ATV?s will not be permitted on levees or in the St. Charles Parish recreation and campground area. Joyriding will not be permitted and violators will be issued citations. The designated ATV areas will be opened for general ATV riding as soon as trail repairs are completed.

A special use permit and map showing designated parking areas can be obtained at the Bonnet Carr? Spillway office or from one of the Corps park rangers.

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/bcarre/missriver.asp