Louisiana Prepares for Higher Water Levels Than Expected

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Emergency officials in Louisiana are preparing for even higher Mississippi River water levels than had previously been estimated, after additional rain fell in the lower Ohio River Valley, according to Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Some areas in the state will experience record river crests, starting when slow-moving waters hit the northern part of the state in roughly two weeks, he said. This comes despite relief provided from the demolition of a southeastern Missouri levee.

“Not only are we going to face in some cases record high amounts of water, but it’s also important to note that this is expected to be a slow-moving crest, which means the river is expected to be at peak levels for as much as potentially a week, maybe as long as seven to 10 days before it starts to subside,” Jindal announced after meeting with the Unified Command Group.

Jindal said the group — which includes health, transportation and other officials — told him that the revised flood estimates have triggered several new preparedness actions.

The Army of Corps of Engineers has decided to consider opening the 58-year-old Morganza floodway near Morgan City.

The 4-mile-wide spillway is located in Central Louisiana in a swampy area between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. It is designed so water from the Mississippi River can be diverted into the swampy area between the rivers to prevent the Mississippi River from overflowing its levees.

The floodway has only been opened once, in 1973.

“Over the next 48 hours they’re going to be doing a lot more … looking at the data to tell us whether they’re going to end up doing this and also what the potential consequences would be,” Jindal said.

The Corps is also now likely to open the Bonnet Carre floodway near New Orleans as early as May 9.

The Bonnet Carre, which was christened in 1932, has been opened nine times since 1937, most recently in 2008.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is particularly vulnerable to floods, and the state has already decided to take action on at least the first two parts of its three-phase plan to evacuate the maximum security prison, starting with the most medically vulnerable inmates on May 9.

Jindal said the estimate for the water near the Angola prison is expected to be more than four feet above the highest crest ever recorded there.

The Department of Corrections has canceled visitations at the penitentiary and the Elayn Hunt Correction Center from May 9 through at least June 1. Other agencies have begun shipping supplies, such as dump trucks to reinforce the levees, to the prison.

Jindal said that the flood stage at Baton Rouge is 35 feet, but the river is projected to rise to 47.5 on the afternoon of May 21.

“This would be higher than all floods reported in the past except for 1927 when it crested at 48 feet. The river is expected to enter flood stage this evening,” said Jindal.

Flood stage levels do not mean the river will overcome the levee.