Bonnet Carré Spillway

The Bonnet Carré Spillway is a flood control operation in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana - about 12 miles west of New Orleans - it allows floodwaters from the Mississippi River to flow into Lake Pontchartrain and thence into the Gulf of Mexico.

Overview

The Bonnet Carré Spillway consists of two basic components: a control structure along the east bank of the Mississippi River and a floodway that transfers the diverted flood waters to the lake. [http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/bcarre/bc3.gifArmy Corp of Engineers: Bonnet Carré Spillway] The control structure is a mechanically controlled concrete weir which extends for over a mile and a half parallel to the river. When opened, a portion of the water from the Mississippi bypasses the New Orleans metropolitan area, resulting in the Mississippi being lower than it could have been and reducing the stress on the area's .

The spillway was built in response to the Great Flood of 1927 that inundated much of the Mississippi River basin. It was first opened during the flood of 1937, and eight times thereafter through 2008 to lower river stages at New Orleans. The most recent opening began on April 11, 2008, when river levels in New Orleans approached the flood stage of 17 feet.cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/18440594.html?showAll=y&c=y |title=Corps begins to close spillway|publisher=Baton Rouge Advocate|accessed=2008-05-01]

The spillway is part of the United States Army Corps of Engineers' multi-state plan, called the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project (MR&T), providing flood protection for the alluvial valley between Cape Girardeau, Missouri and the mouth of the river near Venice, Louisiana. Due to the wide expanse of the project and the complex problems involved, the plan contains an array of features. The MR&T Project provides for levees to contain flood flows, floodways such as the Bonnet Carré to redirect excess flows away from the Mississippi and has other aspects such as channel improvement and river bank stabilization for efficient navigation and protection of the levee system. It also involves reservoirs and pumping plants for flood control drainage. [http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/bcarre/bc4.gifArmy Corps of Engineers: Louisiana MR&T structures]

2007 expansion

In 2007, extraction operations began on a 42-acre square section of spillway property. The 7,600-acre spillway, designed to siphon rising water out of the Mississippi River during flooding seasons, long has been a major source of sand and clay that is used in construction projects throughout the area. But in the post-Katrina era, clay extracted from the spillway will be crucial to raising the levees in St. Charles Parish and east Jefferson Parish.

Once the excavation is complete, the pits will be filled with water and stocked with bluegill, largemouth bass and other fish to enhance the area's secondary function: a recreational haven for boaters, hikers, hunters and fishers.

History of openings

Years when the spillway was opened, number of days it remained open, and peak number of bays opened [cite journal | author=Matt Scallan | title=Previous Spillway Openings | journal=New Orleans Times-Picayune | year=11 April 2008| page=A-1 ] [cite web|url=http://www.wdsu.com/news/16200056/detail.html?rss=no&psp=news |title=Corps Finishes Closing Bonnet Carre Spillway|publisher=WDSU/AP|accessed=2008-05-08]
* 1937 48 days, 285 bays opened
* 1945 57 days, all 350 bays opened
* 1950 38 days, all 350 bays opened
* 1973 75 days, all 350 bays opened
* 1975 13 days, 225 bays opened
* 1979 45 days, all 350 bays opened
* 1983 35 days, all 350 bays opened
* 1997 31 days, 298 bays opened
* 2008 31 days, 160 bays opened

ee also

* Morganza Spillway

Notes

External links

* [http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/bcarre/bcarre.htm U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bonnet Carré Spillway Official Site]
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