NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway Friday after heavy rains caused the Mississippi River to rise six inches in 24 hours, surpassing flood stage.
"In the 124 years we've been collecting data on rainfall events, this is the wettest we've ever been," said Army Corps Commander Rick Kaiser.
The opening was the first time in its history that the spillway has opened twice in one year.
“The locally heavy rain that fell last night precipitated this," said Keith Jones of the Corps. "We got 4-6 inches of rain in the Baton Rouge area over the top of the river and we were on the razor’s edge of the trigger as it was and that local rain pushed us over the trigger.”
The Corps was expected to open 60 of the 350 bays at the spillway. It is uncertain how many bays will eventually be opened, or the duration of the opening.
The opening of the spillway introduces fresh water into the salty water of Lake Pontchartrain, altering the habitat for the marine life.
St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis declared a State of Emergency as a result of the re-opening. He said it was to bring awareness to the severity of the issue and open the possibility of getting federal assistance for damages.
"The waterways and estuaries of St. Bernard Parish have recently seen an unprecedented influx of freshwater as a result of the opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway," said McInnis. "This drastic change in salinity has caused a great deal of stress on the marine ecosystem of eastern St. Bernard."
As water poured through the openings, Kaiser emphasized that the goal was to take the pressure off of the levees downriver and lessen the possibility of a levee failure that could lead to catastrophic flooding in the New Orleans area.
"You can see what we have here," he said, gesturing toward the water pouring through. "Just imagine that moving its way downward into the city, unchecked."
The Bonnet Carré Spillway is opened to relieve stress on New Orleans levees when the Mississippi River flows at 1.25 million cubic feet per second -- enough to fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in less than two minutes. Last month the corps said the spillway has never been opened twice in one year.
The spillway is opened by using a crane to pull up huge timbers called needles.
The spillway was opened in January and later closed on April 11. Friday's opening will mark the 14th time that the spillway has opened since 1937.
The order to open the spillway was issued by Maj. Richard G. Kaiser, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division in Vicksburg, Miss.
The influx of fresh water into Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding waterways has impacted wildlife in southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi. Marine biologists say bodies of dead dolphins with freshwater lesions have been discovered at an alarming rate since the spillway was opened.
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