2011 Mississippi River Spring Floods

[NewsCopy]

I was recently in Lafayette and the surrounding area for the first time as a participant in Cycle Zydeco. I met so many wonderful people and got a real taste — in every way — of Acadiana. My heart goes out to all of you as you await the flooding. I ...

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[HelmutVII]

_ I wonder when this is all over if it would be possible to meet with someone in the corps & possibly talk about design changes in the way the Mississippi & the Atchafalaya dump into the GOM. I believe there are ways to not only make the gulf more eco- friendly with the lowlands, but to turn the coastal erosion into coastal restoration with a minimum of financing. BTW, has anyone you guys know, ever studied the effects of closing off Bayou Lafourche from the river on coastal erosion in Louisiana? I believe this has been a major reason for the SE coastlines of La. being eaten away over the past 40 years especially. _

I need to check with my brother to see how they are operating the Caernarvon structure. He is now retired from the COE but I'm sure he will know the scoop. You can google "caernarvon" to see what happened when they tried a fresh water diversion. Basically it stirred up much more than silt.

Sometimes things that appear obvious are not easily done due to politics, and special interests. We will leave it at that.


This is a link to a COE freshwater diversion PDF. There is plenty of info on fresh water diversion on the COE web site.

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/br...rDiversion.pdf

[NewsCopy]

Matherne said the French-descent Cajuns and other people who have chosen to live here like the outdoor life of fishing and hunting, as well as the warmth and friendliness of their neighbors. “People feel the benefits outweigh the risks," he said.

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[CajunRed]

Helmut or BigEd...some good news (I think) released this morning that the expected crests along the river have been lowered by 2 feet or even a little more than that. I know we're still going to get a ton of water, but that's GOT to be pretty good news!


igeaux.mobi

[cjr3888]

Question for Ed or anyone else who knows,

I drive up and down the levee at least three times a week between Lake Fausee Point and Henderson. Last year, I noticed some small landslides from the top of the levee that haven't all been taken care of. The water won't reach those heights, but can that be a sign of structural damage to the levee? Or is it just as it seems, rain softening the top soil and sliding down?

[HelmutVII]

_ Question for Ed or anyone else who knows,

I drive up and down the levee at least three times a week between Lake Fausee Point and Henderson. Last year, I noticed some small landslides from the top of the levee that haven't all been taken care of. The water won't reach those heights, but can that be a sign of structural damage to the levee? Or is it just as it seems, rain softening the top soil and sliding down? _

Did they appear to be swelling at the bottom and shrinking at the top? Like there was a rotation of a wedge of soil. Or was there a very small ravine through the middle of the affected area?

One of the things that they hope happens after the flood is for the water to recede slowly. When the levees hold water for a long period of time the soil becomes saturated. If the water recedes tto fast the saturated ground will slough off.

[cjr3888]

It just appeared like the rain softened the top and small landslides occurred. I didnt notice until they actually happened.


igeaux.mobi

[HelmutVII]

_ It just appeared like the rain softened the top and small landslides occurred. I didnt notice until they actually happened.


igeaux.mobi _

Probably a sliding circle (shear) failure.

[HelmutVII]

Links to NASA imagery.

This is of Morganza on May15.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ima...011135_lrg.jpg

This is for the rest of the flood imagery.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Nat...t.php?id=49528

[NewsCopy]

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday that officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for wildlife fleeing floodwaters. The governor said bears have been seen in some areas, and reports of snakes moving to higher ground are common ...

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[biged05]

Cjr, helmut is right about the slide. They're not a real big threat and we're watching them. They actually have 3 on the flood side. Those are a little more critical since they are on the flood side. We put rock in those to keep it from sliding any more when the water cones up. I have a really good knowledge of that are because it's my flood fight sector.

King,

Those studies are way above my pay grade...lol
My regular job is contract admin for construction contracts. You would have to get in touch with someone in new Orleans to throw those ideas around, but I think helmut aimed it up pretty good

igeaux.mobi

[CajunMarine81]

At first glance, I thought this was Coach Bustle! lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=91Eb3FiebTs God bless everyone in the flooded area!