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About a dozen chemical plants affected by water

Dan Borné, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association, says about a dozen area plants are being affected by the high Mississippi River. The effects vary by degree and cover everything from docks being underwater to plants not being able to receive raw materials because of disruptions to the supply chain. Borné says the biggest issue plants are facing is the uncertainty concerning whether or when the Morganza spillway will open. "We plan a long way ahead in our business," he says. "If the Morganza is opened, it will mean adjusting operations."

In other news about the rising river:

— A public meeting to provide information about the rising river and the state of levees will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Louisiana School for the Deaf auditorium off of Brightside Lane. Representatives from the city-parish Department of Public Works will be on hand for the meeting, called by Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe.

— The city-parish Department of Public Works is not distributing sandbags, reserving the ones they have to reinforce seepage areas and low points along the levees, says William Daniel, acting director. DPW can direct interested business owners to vendors.

— For information from the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, call 389-2100 any time or visit brgov.com/emergency.

— The Port of New Orleans says it is preparing for the possible closing of the river to ship traffic as early as Monday. A port spokesman says the Coast Guard plans to close the river from the Gulf of Mexico to Baton Rouge once water reaches the 18-foot level at the Carrollton gauge, a river level measure at New Orleans.

— Conrad Industries Inc. says it has temporarily shuttered its Morgan City shipyard along the Atchafalaya River.