Atchafalaya crest near 8 feet expected

The St. Mary Parish Levee District board zoomed through a meeting conducted Thursday with the Zoom teleconferencing application because of coronavirus restrictions.

The highlight of the meeting, which was over 17 minutes after its scheduled 6 p.m. start, was news that the rising Atchafalaya River is predicted to begin falling next week.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, the river at Morgan City was at 7.2 feet, according to the National Weather Service. It's expected to continue rising and reach 8 feet Monday evening. At 7 feet, the river causes moderate flooding between the Morgan City and Berwick flood walls.

District Director Tim Matte told the board that his information is that the crest will be just short of 8 feet.

"We should be able to ride this one out," Matte said.

That's if no more heavy rain falls.

The Atchafalaya rises as more water is diverted into the system from the Mississippi River. The Mississippi's crest was near Vicksburg, Mississippi and moving downriver Thursday night, Matte said.

A sudden jump in the predicted crest of the Mississippi at New Orleans' Carrollton Street gauge led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to recommend opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway last week. The Corps began opening gates Friday, diverting more water into Lake Pontchartrain.

The Corps has opened 50 of the Bonnet Carre's 350 gates, Matte said.

"It's a fairly small opening within the context of what's been happening," Matte said.

The Bonnet Carre' opening has no direct impact on the Atchafalaya system, except that it indicates that officials are on guard against potential flooding. The Corps has resisted calls to open the Morganza Floodway, which would put more water into the Atchafalaya, as an alternative to opening the Bonnet Carre'.