re: Lock # 2 trouble in St Tammany

VICKSBURG, Miss. - At approximately 1:30 today, St Tammany Parrish Sherriff's officials reported water was overtopping the south wall of the lock number 2 on the West Pearl River Navigation Canal south of Bogalusa, Louisiana near the town of Bush. Because of heavy rains from Hurricane Isaac, water levels have risen and caused water to overtop the lock wall causing some erosion.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District (Corps) responders immediately communicated with St Tammany Parish officials to open a valve to release water into the channel and water levels inside the lock chamber have fallen approximately 3 feet.

Corps, State of Louisiana and St Tammany Parish officials are presently on the site, accessing the situation. St Tammany Parrish officials have ordered an evacuation of the areas south and west of the lock until the risk is minimized. Every precaution is being taken to protect the safety of the people and property that could be impacted.

The navigation canal is connected to the Bogue Chitto and Pearl Rivers and was part of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935. The project was completed in 1956 to provide navigation from the mouth of the West Pearl River to the vicinity of Bogalusa, Louisiana.

The project was regularly dredged and maintained until 1973. In 1995, due to decreases in river traffic, Congress put the lock and dam into "caretaker" status and the locks were closed to navigation