Nine gates of the 125 gates of the Morganza Spillway are open. All are fleeing in front of the wall of water: wild life and people. The Atchafalaya Swamp is getting restocked with fish from the Mississippi River.
So far things are working as expected. No one knows what will happen in the forebay of the Morganza Spillway structure. Could a new channel be developing? Or what is occurring the down stream flow out of the gates, will the rip rap hold the soil in place?
People are worried that it can not be closed. But remember it is built at ground level which is way above the channel of the Mississippi. So when the river recedes, the water will not continue to pass through the gates. The gates will be high and dry.
It is said that only 25% of the gates will be opened. The max capacity of the Morganza Structure is 600 thousand cubic feet per second, so that is a rate of about 150 thousand cubic feet per second. That will keep the river from rising any further at Baton Rouge and all places south including New Orleans.
Now that the spillway is opened we must wait and see what happens. If there is a disaster to the south, then I am sure they will open it up all the way to take the pressure off a crevasse. I worry about Upper Pointe Coupee, it is below the Old River Control Structure, and above the Morganza Spillway, so it is at the mercy of the river. A crevasse there would fill Upper Pointe Coupee to the top in about two days and the water would stay there.
Stay there you say, yes. There is no outlet, the water would be trapped by the surrounding levees. Water on both sides and no where to go. In normal times the natural drainage to south end of the area is pumped out into the Atchafalaya River. Those pumps would be submerged and useless. So Upper Pointe Coupee is isolated and must stand by itself.
So what you say, well in the history of crevasses from about 1880 to present day there have been 10 in that region. Even in the 1927 flood, the levee crevassed at McCrea which is a community of sorts in Upper Pointe Coupee along the Atchafalaya River. There was a later crevasse on the other side of the river at almost the same location. All the flooding of that era went down the Atchafalaya basin to the Gulf of Mexico. All the Mississippi River towns like Baton Rouge, White Castle, Plaquemine, Donaldsonville, New Orleans, etc. were saved by those crevasses. The levee did not crevasse on the Mississippi, it did it on the Atchafalaya.
The Morganza Spillway is a man made crevasse that can be controlled. And the excess water is going to the same places as in 1927. Yes, the wider area has levees not to keep it contained in the Atchafalaya valley. The exception is that the Morganza Spillway will not flood Upper Pointe Coupee, the flooding occurs further down river on the same old Atchafalaya.
We will start to see the effects of the spillway in a day or two. We can expect to see the Atchafalaya up stream flow to slow down and rise to cause flooding along that stretch of the river. Already Melville and Krotz Springs are under alert and folks are withdrawing into the ring levees. I suppose Simmsport will be doing the same.
Towns with no protection like Butte LaRose and Stephenville will get flooded. Parts of Morgan City will get flooded, those parts outside the ring levee in particular. Butte LaRose is like on a hump of land down in the swamp. It is not high enough and will get flooded. Not nice but a fact of life.
Pray for those people, they need all the help they can get.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
"Old Man River . . ."
The mighty Mississippi is up to its high jinks again. Daddy used to say, "There is no problem in the lower Mississippi valley unless the Missouri rises early and the Ohio rises late." And that seems to be the problem.
The Mississippi south of St Louis is flooding. Already the US Army Corps of Engineers have blown the levee to protect Cairo, IL. Cairo is important because it is the confluence of both the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers. If they had not relieved the pressure from the upper Mississippi, Cairo would have flooded and quite possibly been washed away. I have cross over the Mississippi from the Illinios into Missouri from Cairo on my way home to New Roads from Chanute Air Force Base, IL. When we went to Chanute we crossed over the Ohio from Paducah, KY into Cairo. So I have seen it from both directions so to speak.
The lower Mississippi is constrained at Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez and Baton Rouge south to the Gulf of Mexico. Between those cities are places along the river that can get up to 10 miles wide and thus act as an accumulator slowing down the flow of the river. But the river really rushes though those locations. The accumulators or balloons help slow down the rate of flow, dampen things so to speak but they do not retain water for long and it all drains back into the river.
When the river rises like it is now, it backs up water in all its tributaries. One has no idea how many those there are - creeks, small rivers even just drainage areas. So while Memphis itself sits on a bluff and is relatively safe, the low lying areas drained by the local watershed is soaked and full to the top. That means all the low lying areas are flooding. That is why those areas are called the flood plain, they are subject to flooding. And that is a well known factor.
The US Government provides flood insurance to those people. No, it is not free. And it has a $15,000 deductible. So it is crisis insurance only. And it is not cheap to get.
When the levee breaks it is called a crevass. Pointe Coupee Parish is most vulnerable to crevasses. It has the Mississippi on the North and East sides of the parish and the Atchafalaya forms the West boundary. In 1927 the Atchafalaya crevassed at McCrea in Pointe Coupee, down river from the present day Simmsport bridge. It also crevassed at Melvillie across the river (West side) and little further south of McCrea. That is why towns of Simmsport, Melville and Krotzsprings on the West side of the Atchafalaya are surrounded by ring levees. You would not notice it too much today as both Krotzsprings and Simmsport have out grown the ring levees and are sprawled wll out beyond the levees.
Just above the Old River Structure, where a US Corps of Engineers constructive effort to keep the Mississippi out of the Atchafalaya river, is a stretch of levee that can be dynamited if necessary. The fear is that if that is done, the raging waters may cut a new channel to the Atchafalaya and leave Baton Rouge South high and dry. So that is truly a last resort location to cut the levee at that point.
The next location is the Morganza Spillway. The town of Morganza is not new to crevasses and once there was a town of New Texas out on the river above Morganza. It has long washed away. The spillway structure is just North of the town on Highway 1 which crosses the structure. Basically, there is a fore bay that stretches from the flood gate structure to the river, perhaps three or four miles in depth. This is one of the accumulators I refer to. The river at that point can reach perhaps 10 or 12 miles wide. Pretty significant size body of flowing water.
The spillway is a series of guide levees that extend down into the great Atchafalaya Swamp and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. The spillway runs abreast of the Atchafalaya river as it more or less leaves Pointe Coupee Parish to the South. A great deal of water can be absorbed by the swamp and if need be, the lower Atchafalaya levee can be breached to allow the water to flow back into the river making an easier path to gulf.
The guide levees cut off upper Pointe Coupee from any natural drainage. That enclave drains toward the South end of the parish but there the water is cut off. Pumps have been installed to lift the drainage into the Atchafalaya. But if there is a crevass in that area, all there will be flooded severely, up to the roof tops as the levees often reach a design level of 50 feet. Give the terrains ranges from 20 to may 35 feet above sea level, well you can judge for yourself. We are talking about a land mass of say 150 square miles.
Trouble is that Terrebone Parish and cities like Morgan City sit in the path of all this water. Morgan City has a ring levee but like Simmsport it has way outgrown the ring levee. So it is a prime target for flooding if the Morganza Spillway is opened up completely.
New Orleans is protected by the Bonnet Carrie Spillway that goes from the river at Norco to Pontchartrain Lake. The Lake fishermen complain bitterly about its use but there has been not significant damage to the lake ecology due to its usage. And it is has been used often. I can recall crossing it with water up to but not over the elevated roadway (bridge). I was but a small child and my father worked for the US Corps of Engineers in New Orleans.
He always said the Bonnet Carrie was opened when the flood gauge at Carrolton Street read 18 feet. New Orleans levees could not tolerate much more than 20 feet at best. So the Bonnet Carrie has been used many times since its construction pre war days some time after the great 1927 flood.
The new John J. Audubon Bridge opened yesterday as the St Francisville ferry was shut down due to high water. The ferry had no place to dock on the New Roads side of the river. This is a sort of annual event anyway, not necessiarily caused by the current anticipated flooding. The bridge is open prematurely with little fan fair. I am sure there will be festivities later in the year.
Let us hope that the new bridge does not become an evacuation route for Pointe Coupee. Ironically, New Roads in all the history of crevasses in Pointe Coupee has never gotten more that 3 or 4 feet of water, and that was only once. However, you can imagine what happens to False River. The camp would be under water!
And it would take a while for it to drain off. It would be a grand disaster of epic proportions. Now you know why the Morrison plantation house is up high on brick pillars.
The Mississippi south of St Louis is flooding. Already the US Army Corps of Engineers have blown the levee to protect Cairo, IL. Cairo is important because it is the confluence of both the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers. If they had not relieved the pressure from the upper Mississippi, Cairo would have flooded and quite possibly been washed away. I have cross over the Mississippi from the Illinios into Missouri from Cairo on my way home to New Roads from Chanute Air Force Base, IL. When we went to Chanute we crossed over the Ohio from Paducah, KY into Cairo. So I have seen it from both directions so to speak.
The lower Mississippi is constrained at Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez and Baton Rouge south to the Gulf of Mexico. Between those cities are places along the river that can get up to 10 miles wide and thus act as an accumulator slowing down the flow of the river. But the river really rushes though those locations. The accumulators or balloons help slow down the rate of flow, dampen things so to speak but they do not retain water for long and it all drains back into the river.
When the river rises like it is now, it backs up water in all its tributaries. One has no idea how many those there are - creeks, small rivers even just drainage areas. So while Memphis itself sits on a bluff and is relatively safe, the low lying areas drained by the local watershed is soaked and full to the top. That means all the low lying areas are flooding. That is why those areas are called the flood plain, they are subject to flooding. And that is a well known factor.
The US Government provides flood insurance to those people. No, it is not free. And it has a $15,000 deductible. So it is crisis insurance only. And it is not cheap to get.
When the levee breaks it is called a crevass. Pointe Coupee Parish is most vulnerable to crevasses. It has the Mississippi on the North and East sides of the parish and the Atchafalaya forms the West boundary. In 1927 the Atchafalaya crevassed at McCrea in Pointe Coupee, down river from the present day Simmsport bridge. It also crevassed at Melvillie across the river (West side) and little further south of McCrea. That is why towns of Simmsport, Melville and Krotzsprings on the West side of the Atchafalaya are surrounded by ring levees. You would not notice it too much today as both Krotzsprings and Simmsport have out grown the ring levees and are sprawled wll out beyond the levees.
Just above the Old River Structure, where a US Corps of Engineers constructive effort to keep the Mississippi out of the Atchafalaya river, is a stretch of levee that can be dynamited if necessary. The fear is that if that is done, the raging waters may cut a new channel to the Atchafalaya and leave Baton Rouge South high and dry. So that is truly a last resort location to cut the levee at that point.
The next location is the Morganza Spillway. The town of Morganza is not new to crevasses and once there was a town of New Texas out on the river above Morganza. It has long washed away. The spillway structure is just North of the town on Highway 1 which crosses the structure. Basically, there is a fore bay that stretches from the flood gate structure to the river, perhaps three or four miles in depth. This is one of the accumulators I refer to. The river at that point can reach perhaps 10 or 12 miles wide. Pretty significant size body of flowing water.
The spillway is a series of guide levees that extend down into the great Atchafalaya Swamp and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. The spillway runs abreast of the Atchafalaya river as it more or less leaves Pointe Coupee Parish to the South. A great deal of water can be absorbed by the swamp and if need be, the lower Atchafalaya levee can be breached to allow the water to flow back into the river making an easier path to gulf.
The guide levees cut off upper Pointe Coupee from any natural drainage. That enclave drains toward the South end of the parish but there the water is cut off. Pumps have been installed to lift the drainage into the Atchafalaya. But if there is a crevass in that area, all there will be flooded severely, up to the roof tops as the levees often reach a design level of 50 feet. Give the terrains ranges from 20 to may 35 feet above sea level, well you can judge for yourself. We are talking about a land mass of say 150 square miles.
Trouble is that Terrebone Parish and cities like Morgan City sit in the path of all this water. Morgan City has a ring levee but like Simmsport it has way outgrown the ring levee. So it is a prime target for flooding if the Morganza Spillway is opened up completely.
New Orleans is protected by the Bonnet Carrie Spillway that goes from the river at Norco to Pontchartrain Lake. The Lake fishermen complain bitterly about its use but there has been not significant damage to the lake ecology due to its usage. And it is has been used often. I can recall crossing it with water up to but not over the elevated roadway (bridge). I was but a small child and my father worked for the US Corps of Engineers in New Orleans.
He always said the Bonnet Carrie was opened when the flood gauge at Carrolton Street read 18 feet. New Orleans levees could not tolerate much more than 20 feet at best. So the Bonnet Carrie has been used many times since its construction pre war days some time after the great 1927 flood.
The new John J. Audubon Bridge opened yesterday as the St Francisville ferry was shut down due to high water. The ferry had no place to dock on the New Roads side of the river. This is a sort of annual event anyway, not necessiarily caused by the current anticipated flooding. The bridge is open prematurely with little fan fair. I am sure there will be festivities later in the year.
Let us hope that the new bridge does not become an evacuation route for Pointe Coupee. Ironically, New Roads in all the history of crevasses in Pointe Coupee has never gotten more that 3 or 4 feet of water, and that was only once. However, you can imagine what happens to False River. The camp would be under water!
And it would take a while for it to drain off. It would be a grand disaster of epic proportions. Now you know why the Morrison plantation house is up high on brick pillars.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Much A-do About Bin Laden
It is over, he's dead. He seemingly died ignobly by using one of his wives as a shield. What a POS.
All pundits seem to say it is better he died, keeping him around was said to be very troublesome.
No matter, he is gone. The head of the snake is cut off. It will writhe for a while yet, but its source of money is now gone. And we are advised it will gradually dry up.
No so for the Taliban, they still rage on in Afghanistan and it will for a while too. But now that one of their precious icons has been tapped out, means are we are getting closer to eradication. Take the next one and then the next one and they will learn. Dogmatic as they are, most of them do not wish to die, just for others to die.
As the man said, "Kill'em." There is no salvaging of the radicals. Terrorism has gotten into their blood and they lust for it. So give them what they want, an early and untimely death.
All pundits seem to say it is better he died, keeping him around was said to be very troublesome.
No matter, he is gone. The head of the snake is cut off. It will writhe for a while yet, but its source of money is now gone. And we are advised it will gradually dry up.
No so for the Taliban, they still rage on in Afghanistan and it will for a while too. But now that one of their precious icons has been tapped out, means are we are getting closer to eradication. Take the next one and then the next one and they will learn. Dogmatic as they are, most of them do not wish to die, just for others to die.
As the man said, "Kill'em." There is no salvaging of the radicals. Terrorism has gotten into their blood and they lust for it. So give them what they want, an early and untimely death.
Monday, April 25, 2011
"Smashed Again . . ."
The "dry line" crossed over us and we had another monster thunderstorm come through Weatherford. We have hail stones in the freezer that are the size of golf balls, proof so to speak.
The trees got trashed a bit but not like the other storm we had three years ago. The vents are not smashed in, the wind turbines are turbining but we did pick dents in the Mountaineer, mostly on the hood. I am sure there are dents on the roof too.
I walked the neighborhood and Post Oaks gave off the most apparent damage, lots of leaves and small branches. Last time, the storm cleaned off all the leaves, not so this time. So the damage is minimal.
But there is currently a tornado warning for our area and more thunderstorms coming our way. Tis the season of, so to speak. Nothing to do but bow one's head and pray for the least amount of damage.
The reservoirs need the water. So it is not all bad but it can be very damaging if a tornado touches down or a prolonged hail storm comes through.
The trees got trashed a bit but not like the other storm we had three years ago. The vents are not smashed in, the wind turbines are turbining but we did pick dents in the Mountaineer, mostly on the hood. I am sure there are dents on the roof too.
I walked the neighborhood and Post Oaks gave off the most apparent damage, lots of leaves and small branches. Last time, the storm cleaned off all the leaves, not so this time. So the damage is minimal.
But there is currently a tornado warning for our area and more thunderstorms coming our way. Tis the season of, so to speak. Nothing to do but bow one's head and pray for the least amount of damage.
The reservoirs need the water. So it is not all bad but it can be very damaging if a tornado touches down or a prolonged hail storm comes through.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
"Musings . . ."
Thursday we traveled over to Timpson, TX for Millie's funeral. Millie was Judie's first cousin, a step-daughter of her Uncle Ford Gremillion. She died of the dreaded disease, Breast Cancer. Millie knew what was coming as she was a registered nurse and a had a teaching certificate. So she was educated and knowledgeable.
Her married name was Trift and she had two children, a boy and girl. The son is married and lives in Timpson or near by. Both children are grown into their 30's. Timpson is a few miles from Nagodoches, TX, slightly to the north in the piney woods country speckled with oil wells. Timpson appears to be an old town, quite a few brick buildings but time has passed it by, it has but a little more than 1,000 inhabitants and I suspect most of them are urban dwellers, living away from the big city of Nagodoches.
She was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery there in Timpson. A nice and peaceful place on the edge of town and a nice place for her to rest forever more.
One of the ironies, is that we parked just off the pave path in the cemetery near Millies spot for last ceremonies. As we walked back to the car we noted we had parked next to the Morrison tomb stone. We both mused if that was a message.
After interment, we had a late lunch in the City of Timpson community center. A small but nice facility ideally suited for such a setting. It was in a little park on the south side of the city just down the road from both the funeral pallor and the tiny post office. We got to visit with the family once again.
We kibitzed with Billy and Cherry; Cherry is Millie's little sister and the same age as Judie. They went to school together and finished together at Poydras High School. We got married a year before Cherry and Billy.
Both Billy and Cherry looked well. We learned Billy, an MD and Surgeon, survived a bad Prostate operation where he nearly bled to death. He had signed a document to prevent transfusions (in today's age one can understand that directive with HIV/AIDS running around). It seems he checked himself out of Emory Hospital in Atlanta and went home to Big Canoe to recover. We learned he said some very bad things about University of Emory hospital, like incompetent, etc. He has both the credentials and the experiences to make such statements.
We saw Charlie Gremillion and his son, Nate as well as Patty and her husband. It was a smallish family gathering but then the occasion was not the happiest. This is virtually the only time we see any of them; we never see them in New Roads, the last time was at Taddy's funeral.
Millie is at peace now . . .
Her married name was Trift and she had two children, a boy and girl. The son is married and lives in Timpson or near by. Both children are grown into their 30's. Timpson is a few miles from Nagodoches, TX, slightly to the north in the piney woods country speckled with oil wells. Timpson appears to be an old town, quite a few brick buildings but time has passed it by, it has but a little more than 1,000 inhabitants and I suspect most of them are urban dwellers, living away from the big city of Nagodoches.
She was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery there in Timpson. A nice and peaceful place on the edge of town and a nice place for her to rest forever more.
One of the ironies, is that we parked just off the pave path in the cemetery near Millies spot for last ceremonies. As we walked back to the car we noted we had parked next to the Morrison tomb stone. We both mused if that was a message.
After interment, we had a late lunch in the City of Timpson community center. A small but nice facility ideally suited for such a setting. It was in a little park on the south side of the city just down the road from both the funeral pallor and the tiny post office. We got to visit with the family once again.
We kibitzed with Billy and Cherry; Cherry is Millie's little sister and the same age as Judie. They went to school together and finished together at Poydras High School. We got married a year before Cherry and Billy.
Both Billy and Cherry looked well. We learned Billy, an MD and Surgeon, survived a bad Prostate operation where he nearly bled to death. He had signed a document to prevent transfusions (in today's age one can understand that directive with HIV/AIDS running around). It seems he checked himself out of Emory Hospital in Atlanta and went home to Big Canoe to recover. We learned he said some very bad things about University of Emory hospital, like incompetent, etc. He has both the credentials and the experiences to make such statements.
We saw Charlie Gremillion and his son, Nate as well as Patty and her husband. It was a smallish family gathering but then the occasion was not the happiest. This is virtually the only time we see any of them; we never see them in New Roads, the last time was at Taddy's funeral.
Millie is at peace now . . .
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
"Crawfish are a coming . . ."
The LSU Tarrant Tigers Crawfish Boil is coming up on April 30. It will be at the US Corps of Engineers park at the top of the hill on the east side of the Benbrook Lake. It is pretty high rise, well above the dam which is to the West of the park.
You take Bryant Irving all the way to the South end. It tee's into a road, turn right and head toward the lake. Just prior to reaching the park, the road turns sharply to the right. On you left is the park with plenty of parking and a covered area. It has rest room facilities and is probably 8 or 10 acres, most of it mowed, but some of it with wild flowers remains un-cut.
Plenty of room for animals both pets and children. It is, however, usually windy. There will be plenty of drinks (free beer), and a sales table with all kinds of LSU stuff.
Gonna be fun. Geaux Tigers!
You take Bryant Irving all the way to the South end. It tee's into a road, turn right and head toward the lake. Just prior to reaching the park, the road turns sharply to the right. On you left is the park with plenty of parking and a covered area. It has rest room facilities and is probably 8 or 10 acres, most of it mowed, but some of it with wild flowers remains un-cut.
Plenty of room for animals both pets and children. It is, however, usually windy. There will be plenty of drinks (free beer), and a sales table with all kinds of LSU stuff.
Gonna be fun. Geaux Tigers!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"Wendel"
I sent a letter to an old fraternity brother, Joffre Fusilier. Well it turns out that Joffre has reverted to using his middle name, Wendel. It seems he only used his first name at LSU in both undergraduate and law school days. In his native Ville Platte, he was known as Wendel.
When he returned to Ville Platte to start his law practice he continued to use Joffre but ran into problems confusing his father's account with his over the name Jaffre. So he had to revert to Wendel again.
His son is also named Joffre. A fireman but attending college. Two daughters, one a lawyer that does not practice and one a nurse.
We had a long telephone chat. He is not much of a computer man, says his wife uses one at home and he has one at the office but not at home.
Anyway, another old fraternity brother contacted. Hank Bernard put me on to the Wendel name and I was successful getting through that way. I guess the Joffre addressed ended up at his son's house and in the ash can.
We talked a bit about Terry Dardeau. Sad, Terry returned to Ville Platte, bought a house and within weeks was dead. Yvie thinks Terry came home to die. Joffre (er, Wendel) said they were good friends but that Terry did not come to see him in the end. I don't think it was a snub, I think Terry was too sick.
I told him about Dwight Paulsen and Bernie Lafaso. He did not recall Keith Irwin at all. I found that strange but that is getting close to 50 years ago now.
When he returned to Ville Platte to start his law practice he continued to use Joffre but ran into problems confusing his father's account with his over the name Jaffre. So he had to revert to Wendel again.
His son is also named Joffre. A fireman but attending college. Two daughters, one a lawyer that does not practice and one a nurse.
We had a long telephone chat. He is not much of a computer man, says his wife uses one at home and he has one at the office but not at home.
Anyway, another old fraternity brother contacted. Hank Bernard put me on to the Wendel name and I was successful getting through that way. I guess the Joffre addressed ended up at his son's house and in the ash can.
We talked a bit about Terry Dardeau. Sad, Terry returned to Ville Platte, bought a house and within weeks was dead. Yvie thinks Terry came home to die. Joffre (er, Wendel) said they were good friends but that Terry did not come to see him in the end. I don't think it was a snub, I think Terry was too sick.
I told him about Dwight Paulsen and Bernie Lafaso. He did not recall Keith Irwin at all. I found that strange but that is getting close to 50 years ago now.
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