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A heron takes a stroll along the Morgan City wharf, which inundated with water from the swollen Berwick Bay. (The Daily Review/Bill Decker)

Port to request funds to address extreme shoaling

The Port of Morgan City is requesting emergency federal funds to combat extreme shoaling in the Atchafalaya River caused by massive amounts of sediment moved into the area by high water.

Officials anticipate the shoaling will only worsen as the river levels drop and more sediment is deposited. The Atchafalaya has been above the 6-foot flood stage for over three months.

Stouts Pass and Berwick Bay both have lots of sediment accumulation that is significantly impeding vessel traffic and preventing access to fuel docks in Morgan City, Port Economic Development Manager Cindy Cutrera said. Stouts Pass is located near the Berwick lock.

“We are pushing for emergency funding to remove all of the excess material that keeps moving down on us during this extensive flood event,” Cutrera said in an email.

Berwick Bay is experiencing severe shoaling on the Morgan City side all the way to the center line in some areas. The Berwick side of the bay doesn’t have sediment buildup issues, just high water.

Port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade, addressed the Mississippi River Commission at a public meeting Friday in Baton Rouge and stressed the dire need for additional funding through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove sediment from Berwick Bay along with other areas of the Atchafalaya River and Bayous Boeuf, Black and Chene.

In an email, Corps spokeswoman Pam Vedros said, "addressing the increased sediment in both Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers is a significant, and costly, challenge following every high river event."

"At this time, Congress has not appropriated supplemental recovery funds in response to the current Mississippi River high water event," Vedros said.

Despite a significant increase in dredging funds for the port during the past year, port leaders say those funds aren’t enough to handle the large accumulation of sediment occurring near the port.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Timothy Veach, director of Vessel Traffic Service Berwick Bay, said mariners navigating the area’s waterways should proceed with caution during the next month as the water levels gradually fall.

High water has actually somewhat masked the impact of the shoaling.

“As we shift out of the high water and the river starts to fall, that shoaling is going to become more prevalent,” along with the associated risk, Veach said.

When the river current slows as the water level drops, a lot of the sediment that’s being “flushed out right now” will begin to deposit on the river bottom, he said.

Several shoaling advisories are in effect for the Morgan City area, including the triple span bridges in Berwick Bay, mile marker 99, 20 Grand Point, Stouts Pass and Bayou Chene.

In the past three months, the Coast Guard has responded to reports of 26 vessel groundings in the Morgan City area, Veach said. The Atchafalaya River stage at Morgan City is expected to stay over 7 feet for at least the next two weeks.

Any emergency dredging funds acquired would only be for areas in the vicinity of the Port of Morgan City and not farther down the river toward the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel.

ST. MARY NOW

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