Flood control structures being prepared for Cristobal

Local parish, city and drainage district crews have been busy battening down St. Mary’s hatches — flood gates, mostly — as Tropical Storm Cristobal made its way into the Gulf of Mexico on the way to a Sunday landfall in Louisiana.

The prediction is for a storm surge 2-4 feet above normal, according to the National Weather Service.

If the storm passes east of the Morgan City-Berwick area, the prediction is that the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City could get to 9-1/2 feet. At 4 p.m. Friday, the Atchafalaya was a shade over the 6-foot minor flood stage.

Hurricane Barry pushed the Atchafalaya over 10 feet on July 13, but St. Mary Levee District Tim Matte noted that the river was higher last year.

As for Cristobal, “if it’s to our east, our effects could be much less,” Matte said. “If it’s to our west, it could be more.”

Matte said the storm surge is likely to come after the worst of the wind and rain.The latest graphics indicate tropical storm-force winds will be near the Louisiana coast by 8 p.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service predicts the Atchafalaya will begin rising about 7 a.m. Sunday, reach 9-1/2 feet about 1 a.m. Monday and be back below 6-1/2 feet by 1 p.m. Monday.

Crews have been closing flood wall gates in Morgan City and Berwick.

Two major Levee District projects are under way: the Bayou Chene Flood Control Project near Morgan City and the Bayou Teche Flood Control Project.

The Bayou Chene work, designed to prevent back-flooding when the Atchafalaya is high, consists mostly of dredging so far, so the storm can’t do much to hurt the project, Matte said.

The Bayou Teche project, designed to prevent storm surge from causing flooding in the Franklin, Garden City and Centerville areas, is underway, but Matte said the contractor has taken steps to prevent damage to the work already done.

Elsewhere, pumps worked at the Franklin Canal structure to prevent flooding. And the Hanson Canal structure was closed Thursday.

One problem area during Barry was the levee being constructed as part of the North Bend Phase B project near the Cabot Corp. carbon black operation in the Centerville area. The levee was overtopped during Barry.

Now, the Corps of Engineers has the levee at grade. “That’s a project that should provide some protection to Cabot,” Matte said.

Drainage district crews are using Hesco baskets and limestone to prevent flooding from the Charenton Canal in the area near Metal Shark.