Fast move saves Plaquemines Parish homes
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Standing on high ground near the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Structure during Hurricane Gustav on Sept. 12, Plaquemines Parish officials noticed something strange.
They saw water rising rapidly on the east side of the parish levees near Braithwaite, rising much higher than the water levels in the Mississippi River, said P. J. Hahn, Plaquemines Parish’s director of coastal zone management.
The officials looked at each other and the suggestion was made, he said. If under normal conditions the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Structure could move water from the river to the marshes outside the levees, why couldn’t the reverse work as well.
After making a call to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the parish got approval to open the gates to relieve the pressure on the levees. Hahn said the parish has the authority to operate the structure, but because using for flood control hadn’t been done before, officials wanted to check with the Corps of Engineers first. “If we didn’t ask for permission, we knew we’d be asking for forgiveness later,” Hahn said.
The parish used a generator to operate the gates and water started flowing. Within 30 minutes, water that had been close to topping the levees to the east of Braithwaite had gone down about a foot, Hahn said.
“It was the difference between flooding and not flooding,” he said.
The spur of the moment decision to use the structure that way had worked.
The structure was closed again on Sept. 14.
Then came Hurricane Ike.
Hahn said there was still a lot of water in the coastal marshes from Hurricane Gustav when Hurricane Ike hit. Despite extra sandbagging and reopening the Caernarvon structure on Sept. 24, water poured over the levee east to Braithwaite during Hurricane Ike until the hurricane winds shifted direction and the flooding stopped.
Having the structure open seemed to help prevent the flooding from being worse, Hahn said.
Water flowed over the levees, but it helped to have Caernarvon open and to add extra sand bags along the levees and in low spots, he said.
No homes in that area of Braithwaite flooded during Ike, Hahn said.
They saw water rising rapidly on the east side of the parish levees near Braithwaite, rising much higher than the water levels in the Mississippi River, said P. J. Hahn, Plaquemines Parish’s director of coastal zone management.
The officials looked at each other and the suggestion was made, he said. If under normal conditions the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Structure could move water from the river to the marshes outside the levees, why couldn’t the reverse work as well.
After making a call to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the parish got approval to open the gates to relieve the pressure on the levees. Hahn said the parish has the authority to operate the structure, but because using for flood control hadn’t been done before, officials wanted to check with the Corps of Engineers first. “If we didn’t ask for permission, we knew we’d be asking for forgiveness later,” Hahn said.
The parish used a generator to operate the gates and water started flowing. Within 30 minutes, water that had been close to topping the levees to the east of Braithwaite had gone down about a foot, Hahn said.
“It was the difference between flooding and not flooding,” he said.
The spur of the moment decision to use the structure that way had worked.
The structure was closed again on Sept. 14.
Then came Hurricane Ike.
Hahn said there was still a lot of water in the coastal marshes from Hurricane Gustav when Hurricane Ike hit. Despite extra sandbagging and reopening the Caernarvon structure on Sept. 24, water poured over the levee east to Braithwaite during Hurricane Ike until the hurricane winds shifted direction and the flooding stopped.
Having the structure open seemed to help prevent the flooding from being worse, Hahn said.
Water flowed over the levees, but it helped to have Caernarvon open and to add extra sand bags along the levees and in low spots, he said.
No homes in that area of Braithwaite flooded during Ike, Hahn said.
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