Fresh water could flow into Lake Pontchartrain for up to a month, Corps of Engineers officials say
Mississippi River water began flowing through the Bonnet Carre spillway this morning (May 9) after the Army Corps of Engineers opened a portion of the control structure to relieve pressure on the levees protecting New Orleans, according to the Associated Press.
Corps officials began pulling restraining devices from the first of the 28 bays that will be opened shortly after 8 a.m., the news agency reported. There are 350 bays in the control structure.
The water is now running through the spillway into Lake Pontchartrain. The Morganza spillway north of Baton Rouge also could be opened, as Corps officials requested permission from the Mississippi River Commission to open that structure.
The moves are in response to extremely high river stages in the northern reaches of the Mississippi River. Officials say they expect the river to crest in Louisiana at near record levels, so opening the spillways would help alleviate the threat of the levee systems being topped.
Officials project the Bonnet Carre spillway could be open for two to four weeks.
