Bonnet Carré Spillway Opened: Louisiana Floods

by NowPublic Staff | May 9, 2011 at 12:03 pm

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Bonnet Carré Spillway Opened to Alleviate Mississippi River Flooding

The US Army Corps of Engineers has begun opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway in order to ease the pressure on the levees protecting New Orleans from the flooding Mississippi River.

As flood water pours through the Bonnet Carre spillway, it will flow into Lake Pontchartrain and then into the Gulf of Mexico. However, the water will deluge several fragile recreation areas.

Echoing the move to blast the Bird's Point Levee, protecting New Orleans will come at the expense of other towns: should the Morganza spillway also be opened to divert water toward the Atchafalaya Basin, nearby towns will have to be evacuated due to redirected flooding.