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Name:
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MAJ USA RET
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Subject:
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Flooding in LA
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Date:
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12/5/2009 10:36:02 AM
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The Corps of Engineers keeps the Mississippi running through New Orleans. HOWEVER, The Big Muddy wants to switch to the Atchafalaya River basin. The only thing that prevents this from happening is the “Old River Structure” (Also a Corps of Engineers project) near Simmsport, LA.
If you know anything about bayous, you know that they depend on flooding for their existence. When the rivers cannot carry the water forced into them (it's a gradient vs channel cross-section problem), the water is “stored” by flooding the bayous. The entire Mississippi Delta is one big bayou.
Flood waters entrapped in bayous undergo a velocity drop. When this happens, the competency of the flow is reduced to… uh… nothing, and the sediment load is dropped. This process builds flood plains. THEREFORE, if you build on a flood plain, you are building in a place where flooding is a significant part of its history.
So that folks could live in New Orleans… yea, everywhere along the Mississippi…the Corps of Engineers has engineered the river banks and tributaries (for flood control and navigation)… to wit, levees and dredging. I heard recently that the Corps of Engineers is being sued for the levee break which flooded New Orleans. Hmmmm… the flood plain dwellers have hit the lottery with that one.
Ah… back to the Atchafalaya. If the Mississippi ever gets through the Old River Structure, an overwhelming portion of its flow will make the right turn into the Atchafalaya Basin. Overwhelming is an understatement. The Old River Structure would be scoured away. Morgan City would disappear in the wall of water, as would Interstate 10, every highway bridge, railroad bridge, pipeline, waterline, gas line, etc between Simmsport and the Gulf of Mexico. Shipping below Simmsport will be nearly impossible. And New Orleans will be high and dry… uh… well, low and dry.
New Orleans flooding problem solved by Mother Nature herself.
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