Officials keep wary eye on river stage

Local and federal officials find themselves watching the Atchafalaya and other rivers under the threat of a rare winter flood.

The Atchafalaya River is expected to crest at 9.5 feet by Jan. 23 based on weather predictions for the next 48 hours.

Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte spoke with the emergency operations director at the U.S. Corps of Engineers after a phone conference held Monday afternoon regarding rising levels of water for the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. They discussed specifics about the Atchafalaya River course.

Before the call, “I didn’t have any of this information nor any real indication of a problem of this serious nature,” Matte said.

“It was a real surprise,” he said. “This is not the time of the year we would normally see this kind of water.”

The river at Morgan City is currently at 5 feet.

If the river exceeds 6 or 7 feet, all of the riverfront businesses on the unprotected side of the floodwall are at risk.

“Once the flood gates are closed, the water is not coming into the city,” Matte said. “But everybody who is either operating a business or lives on the outside of the floodwall would see water in their yards.”

If the river reaches the expected crest of 9.5 feet, those businesses unprotected by the levee would be affected .

“They would have to be shut down,” Matte said. “They would not be able to operate, get trucks and supplies in, and water would be in their buildings.

“Elevation is different in various locations. Some would go underwater before others.”

If the flow in the Mississippi River exceeds 1.5 million cubic feet per second, virtually everything else is going to have to come down the Atchafalaya, Matte said.

If the Morganza Spillway has to be opened , there will be more water in the system than predicted. The river would rise above 9.5 feet.

The New Orleans District Corps of Engineers is currently managing the emergency operations center. They are moving to Phase 2, which is the more intense surveillance of the levees and more frequent conference calls, Matte said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gen. Michael Wehr, president of the Mississippi River Commission, makes the decision about whether to open the Morganza Spillway upon the recommendation of Col. Richard Hansen, New Orleans District Corps engineer.

At this point, a representative from the U.S. Corps of Engineers Emergency Management does not foresee that occurring.

According to the Associated Press, “Heavy rainfall has already inundated a levee in northeast Louisiana. Part of the Mississippi River levee near Alsatia, in East Carroll Parish, collapsed.”

Greg Raimondo, spokesman for the Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “The district plans to activate its flood-fighting plan on Friday, increasing patrols along levees, looking for sand boils, seepage and landslides.

“Corps officials are concerned that a levee collapsed before the river really began rising,” said Raimondo in the news report.