Officials prepping floodgates, Bayou Chene for closure

Area leaders have begun making preparations to close floodgates and block Bayou Chene in anticipation of the Jan. 23 crest of the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City.
As of 10 a.m. today, the Atchafalaya River was at 6.2 feet in Morgan City. Flood stage is 6 feet. The National Weather Service forecast shows the river reaching 7.3 feet by Wednesday.
Without the opening of the Morganza Spillway, forecasters expect the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City to crest at 8.5 feet Jan. 23. If the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens Morganza, officials expect the Atchafalaya to crest at 9.2 feet.
During a Corps stakeholders meeting Thursday in Morgan City, Col. Richard Hansen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans district commander, said the triggers to open Morganza had just met the threshold.
Based on the weather forecast, Corps of Engineers’ officials said Thursday they planned to open the first gate of the Morganza Spillway Monday and then open 13 more gates in the following days. As of 11 a.m. today, however, the Corps had not made an official decision on whether to open Morganza.
WAFB in Baton Rouge reported Thursday night, due to a change in the Mississippi River forecast, Morganza will open no sooner than Tuesday. The station quoted the Corps of Engineers.
Opening the Morganza Spillway diverts water from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin to protect communities along the Mississippi from flooding.
Morgan City and Berwick began getting ready to close floodgates this week.
Morgan City workers closed the floodgate across the seawall from Wildflower Boutique on Thursday. City officials wanted to keep people out of the area because that section is under the jurisdiction of the wharf project contractor, Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said. The contractor halted work on the wharf project this week.
The floodgate at Front Street and Railroad Avenue in Morgan City was set to be closed today, Grizzaffi said.
Grizzaffi expects the city to close a total of 16 floodgates if the river gets to 9.2 feet.
Berwick Mayor Louis Ratcliff said the town closed its first floodgate Wednesday on First Street. Town officials are going to give affected business owners 24 hours’ notice before closing each gate, he said. If the river gets to 9 feet, Berwick may be forced to close 11 gates, he said.
At Thursday’s Corps stakeholders meeting, parish officials said they didn’t anticipate having to evacuate any areas protected by levees or floodwalls.
St. Mary Levee District officials are preparing to install a temporary flood protection structure on Bayou Chene that involves sinking a barge to protect Amelia, Terrebonne, lower St. Martin and other parishes.
Pipe pilings will hold the barge in place, while the sheet pilings are what blocks the water flow, Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte said.
“The barge is more or less the support to keep the sheet pile from collapsing,” Matte said.
The levee district will begin installation of the initial pipe piles Saturday on Bayou Chene. The U.S. Coast Guard will close Bayou Chene to vessel traffic beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Workers will drive steel sheet pile Monday or Tues-day, a process that may take about six days, Matte said.
National Guard Col. Keith Waddell, brigade commander for 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of Lafayette, said the brigade now has personnel working in the parish.
National Guard members are setting out HESCO baskets on Avoca Island to help prevent flooding in that area, Waddell said. Saving lives and protecting infrastructure are the National Guard’s main objectives.
National Guard members will operate out of the Port of Morgan City’s Government Emergency Operations Center. Corps officials have set up a mobile command station by the Emergency Operations Center.
In St. Martin Parish, offi-cials will provide sandbags to residents from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at Stephens-ville Park, 3257 La. 70, and Butte Larose-Fire Station, 1721 Herman Dupuis Road, according to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office.
St. Mary Parish officials plan to hand out sandbags to those who need them in the Amelia area, but a date and time haven’t yet been set, said Duval Arthur, parish homeland security and emergency preparedness director. Amelia is the only area that should need any sandbags in St. Mary Parish, Arthur said.