re: satellite picture of morganza spillway

quote:

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All that land between the control structure and the river is flooded. North of the spillway the levee turns away from the river and runs south to the spillway. South of the spillway the same thing happens in the other direction. So when the river floods over its banks, the water can reach all the way to the control structure.

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yes, but not exactly

there is also a shorter levee that maintains the river between the forebay (flooded block) and the river

this levee gets overtopped early in flood stages allowing the forebay to fill

the forebay SHOULD remain dry except for a flood event every few years

once the water recedes, this smaller levee is repaired and the area that is the forebay can be farmed