re: Morganza Spillway may or may not open for a 3rd time -- lack of clear info from ACoE

How much is buying every home and business in the flood plain going to cost compared to the Corps levee building and flood protection budget?

It just seems like there's a shitload of infrastructure that would have to be abandoned. Private interests aren't going to just walk away from their investments.

Thanks for the recommendations.

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In the long run it would be far more cost effective than endless construction as well as providing storm surge protection and land building on the coast.

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How long is the long run?

You are affecting a ton of people and industry along two river systems. Buyout and relocate over a million people and tons of industry.

At some point, we are going to have to make hard decisions. In the next 30 years we may to think long and hard about removing the levees south of Braithewaite / Belle Chasse. The cost of relocation for just that stretch is going to be incredible. Redirecting the flow at ORCS is just not an option.

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My solution would be to let a far larger portion of the MS flow as it wishes and plan accordingly. In the long run it would be far more cost effective than endless construction as well as providing storm surge protection and land building on the coast.

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The Mississippi is remarkable in still
another way—­its disposition to make prodigious jumps by cutting
through narrow necks of land, and thus straightening and shortening
itself.  More than once it has shortened itself thirty miles
at a single jump!  These cut-offs have had curious
effects:  they have thrown several river towns out into the rural districts, and built up sand bars and forests in front of them. The town of Delta used to be three miles below Vicksburg: a recent cutoff has radically changed the position, and Delta is now two miles above Vicksburg.

Both of these river towns have been
retired to the country by that cut-off.  A cut-off plays havoc
with boundary lines and jurisdictions:  for instance, a man is
living in the State of Mississippi to-day, a cut-off occurs
to-night, and to-morrow the man finds himself and his land over on
the other side of the river, within the boundaries and subject to
the laws of the State of Louisiana!  Twain. Mark Life on the Mississippi River

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1. Obviously, we can not let the Ms River do 100% of what it wishes because that would be chaos for navigation and the Ms River is the most important transportation system in the USA. So what do you consider to be a reasonable larger portion?

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The master plan focuses on prioritizing 10 sediment diversion projects across the central and southeast coast for implementation within the first period (Years 1 to 10) and dedicates approximately $4.2 billion to these projects. Specifically, the master plan recommends two Atchafalaya River diversions and eight Mississippi River diversions in the first implementation period.

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LINK

2. Those ten sediment diversion channels will also serve as mini spillways during floods which will allow more water to leave the navigation channel and "do what it wants" as it makes it way to the Gulf. We are already doing that. IIRC work on the first diversion channel is supposed to start next year.

I do know if we had never spent one penny on levees to begin with and built accordingly we would be much better off today.



Well, maybe or maybe not, but that all falls into the 20/20 Hindsight category. We've got to fix the problem as it exists in 2019, not as it was in 1718.

Just think of attempting what another poster suggested and opening the levees south of Braithewaite and Belle Chasse/Jesuit Bend or so. There's hardly anything south of Braithewaite on tve east bank, but there's a lot of industry on tbe west bank of Plaquemines Parish. All of the oilfield and fishing infrastructure in Venice would be gone. Gulf Alliance refinery (don't know it's current name), the coal terminal at Davant, whatever Freeport development is left in Port Sulfer, the and a bunch citrus farms run by Becnals would all be gone. There's only a few thousand people living down there,but they'll want compensation for their property. And don't forget that stinking fricking pogy plant Empire!

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. All of the oilfield and fishing infrastructure in Venice would be gone. Gulf Alliance refinery (don't know it's current name), the coal terminal at Davant, whatever Freeport development is left in Port Sulfer, the and a bunch citrus farms run by Becnals would all be gone. There's only a few thousand people living down there,but they'll want compensation for their property. And don't forget that stinking fricking pogy plant Empire!

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Not sure what you are getting at here, the MS river at Venice is normally just above MSL and any diversion would not change that one single bit.

MSL will not change regardless of what we do and all of those would be far better of if protected by marsh.

A problem that it would cause is increased silting but that is a different topic and fairly easy to deal with.

The suggestion was to remove the levees south of Braithewaite on the east bank and just below Belle Chasse on the west bank to allow a natural river flow and land building. My point was that although one of the least populated parishes in the state, there is still quite a bit of industry in Plaquemines Parish.

When you travel south on Belle Chasse Hwy (LA 23) there's the river levee on your left and the "back" hurricane protection levee on your right. They're within sight of each other in some places. Presumably they're there for a reason and if removed, I'd think the whole place would periodically be under water.

If you Google. “ avulsion Mississippi River “ you will find some excellent articles and illustrations. I get started on this stuff and can’t stop reading. Sorry I don’t know how to post links.

This definitely is setting up as a top 5 flood. The rainy season is not even here yet. Not good. Time to prepare now.