RECORD RIVER LEVELS ON LOWER MISS FORCE SPILLWAY OPENINGS

摘要

Extraordinary flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries along with spring runoff of snow and ice forced the Corps of Engineers in June to open the Morganza Spillway for only the third time in its 65-year history. The purpose of the Morganza Flood-way is to divert excess floodwater from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin. The floodway consists of two structures - the Morganza Control Structure and the Morganza Floodway - which are designed to pass up to 600,000-cu.-ft.-per-second (cfs) of water to the Gulf of Mexico, alleviating stress for mainline levees downstream along the Mississippi River. The Corps said the structure would be overtopped in June if the gates were not opened. The opening is only the third since high water events of 1973 and 2011.