The Corps of Engineers says heavy rains and storm surge from a tropical system will push the Mississippi River to 20 feet in New Orleans, which could result in some levees being overtopped.
Spokesperson Ricky Boyett says the levee system runs 20-25 feet high, and the high-water period will push up against it as Barry gets closer to landfall in southwest Louisiana.
“We would see it probably late Friday or Saturday, and it’s surge related so it would be an increase and drop, and not like a normal river where you would hold that elevation for a long period of time.”
The river was already sitting around 16-17 feet at the Carrolton Gauge due to historic rainfall in the Midwest.
Boyett says they do not expect any potential overtopping to be widespread, but they’ve begun additional surveying to see if some parts of the system could use reinforcement.
“We are working with the levee districts to evaluate any potential low areas that could see overtopping, especially if the forecast changes for the worse.”
He added that there are concerns at the moment about areas south of New Orleans.
Boyett says the levee system is in good shape and there’s no concerns about the integrity of the levees, so they’ll be focused on potentially increasing the height of certain portions of the system.
“We are going to try and get a little more elevation on those levees, and most of the time that is done through things like HESCO baskets where you can put them on top and help reduce the amount of water coming over.”
Three to five feet of storm surge is expected at the mouth of the Mississippi.
