You have probably noticed recently in news reports that there has been a lot of rain throughout the Midwest that drains into the Mississippi River watershed.  All of that water is working its way down the River, which is already high from rain and snow earlier this year.  As the river continues to rise, it appears likely that the Bonnet Carre Spillway will be at least partially opened.  In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that it will likely open sometime between May 6 and 11, though the exact dates depend on the weather further up stream.  When this does happen, millions of gallons of freshwater from the Mississippi River will flow into Lake Pontchartrain.

Already in late April, the river reached a stage where water started leaking through the wooden pins that seal the spillway opening during normal times.   The Corps criteria

specify opening the spillway when flow rates reach 1.25 million cfs (cubic feet per second) at the Carrollton gage in New Orleans.  Currently, the National Weather Service is predicting flows of this magnitude between May 7 and 13, though additional rainfall upriver could change this.   The Corps suggested the maximum flow of 100,000 cfs through the spillway, for a 1 to 2 week period.  This may change.  If the initial estimate is correct, the total volume of water released would be less than the 2008 opening and less then one third of the volume in 1997.  As in 2008, LPBF will coordinate with government agencies in a monitoring program of the spillway's impacts on the Pontchartrain Basin.

The Bonnet Carre Spillway's most recent opening occurred in 2008, which had a peak flow of 160,000 cfs.  During the 2008 opening, LPBF partnered with  Federal and State agencies in a monitoring program of the spillway's impacts on the Lake.  LPBF contributed to an effort that included the OCPR, LDWF, LDEQ, USACE, USGS, MDMR, and USM to monitor hydrology, water quality, benthic organisms, oysters, finfish and shellfish.  The results of this monitoring program have been made available on a public website hosted by the USGS: 

http://deltas.usgs.gov/BonnetCarre.aspx