Corps to close bays at Bonnet Carré Spillway

Published June 10, 2011

NEW ORLEANS – Based on the reduced flows in the Mississippi River at Red River Landing, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District will begin closing bays at the Bonnet Carré Spillway on Saturday, June 11, 2011. Initially, the Corps will close 30 of the 330 bays currently open. Operations are expected to begin at 7:00 a.m. The Corps will continue to assess conditions of the Mississippi River and perform closure operations based upon these conditions.

The Bonnet Carré Spillway is designed to ensure that a maximum river flow of 1.25 million cubic feet per second (cfs) is passed through Mississippi River and Tributaries system at New Orleans. Because the river has receded below the maximum flow at Red River Landing, the diversion of water into Lake Pontchartrain is no longer needed to safely pass the river flow through the New Orleans area. During peak operation, 316,000 cfs was being diverted through the flood control structure.

Although water levels are receding, allowing the structure’s closure, the Mississippi River in the New Orleans District’s area of responsibility remains elevated. In the interest of public safety, the Corps will continue its flood fight operations and environmental monitoring.

*****

Bonnet Carré Spillway, located 28 miles above New Orleans, is a vital element of the multi-state Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) system, which uses a variety of features to provide flood risk reduction to the alluvial Mississippi Valley from Cape Girardeau, MO to Head of Passes, LA. Located on the east bank in St. Charles Parish, it can divert a portion of the river's floodwaters via Lake Pontchartrain into the Gulf of Mexico, thus allowing high water to bypass New Orleans and other nearby river communities. The structure has a design capacity of 250,000 cfs, the equivalent of roughly 1,870,000 gallons per second.

The Bonnet Carré structure consists of a control structure and a floodway. The control structure is a concrete weir that parallels the river for a mile and a half. It consists of 350 gated bays, each holding 20 timber "needles," for a total of 7,000 needles. When needles are removed, river water flows into the floodway and is conveyed nearly six miles between guide levees to the lake. Operation of the structure is relatively simple. Two cranes, moving on tracks atop the structure, lift timbers from their vertical position in the weir and set them horizontally across the top of the structure to allow river water into the spillway.

Contact
Ricky Boyett
504-862-1524
ricky.d.boyett@usace.army.mil

Release no. 11-048