Meeting On Benefits Of Diversions To Reduce Bonnet Carre Impacts To Be Held March 9
Louisiana Wildlife Federation
(Baton Rouge, March 2, 2022) Louisiana Wildlife Federation is hosting a meeting for the public to learn about the multiple benefits of diversions to restore wetlands and reduce impacts of Bonnet Carré Spillway openings. The meeting will be held March 9, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.
The meeting will feature a presentation by Dr. Ehab Meselhe of Tulane University to discuss the second phase of the study "Utilzing Upper Diversions in River Management" that evaluates impacts of river diversions on water flows through the Bonnet Carre' Spillway for flood control. Representatives from the Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also be present to answer questions about proposed diversions along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
More details about the meeting, including how to attend virtually, can be found at lawildlifefed.org. A second meeting to be held in St. Charles Parish is being planned.
The Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) is a flood-control structure and part of an overall flood control system for the Lower Mississippi River managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Recently the BCS has been operated more often than it has been in previous decades. The BCS diverts fresh floodwaters from the Mississippi River (along with sediment and nutrient loads) into Lake Pontchartrain. The flood protection benefits from BCS are well documented by the USACE.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Tulane University led a study to examine the utility of three river diversions identified and defined in the 2017 Coastal Master Plan —Maurepas, Union, and Ama — to function as auxiliary flood control options with a goal of reducing the magnitude or duration of operating the Bonnet Carre' Spillway.
The Union Diversion would divert freshwater into West Maurepas swamp near Burnside to provide sediment for emergent marsh creation and freshwater and fine sediment to sustain existing wetlands.
The Ama Diversion is a conceptual sediment diversion into Upper Barataria near Ama to provide sediment for emergent marsh creation and freshwater to sustain existing wetlands.
Both the Union and Ama diversion are in the State’s 2017 Coastal Master Plan. The Union Diversion is currently included in the Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority’s Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Plan; in this plan, funding is allocated for the planning phase of the project. The Ama Diversion, however, is still in the conceptual phase (it has not moved to the planning phase yet).
The River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp project, which is also mentioned in Tulane’s study, is expected to begin construction this year.
Louisiana Wildlife Federation is a statewide nonprofit organization representing a broad constituency of conservationists including hunters, anglers, campers, birders, boaters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.