Though recent major flooding has caused damage along the Mississippi River, civil and environmental engineering professor Clinton Willson said the risk of severe flooding from the river in Louisiana is minimal.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website, the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge reached a height of 43.05 feet — more than three feet above the river’s 40-foot major flood stage — as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Since the start of the semester, the LSU Emergency Operations Center has had a “river watch” post on the LSU homepage to inform students that campus will continue to operate regularly as the group monitors river conditions.
“I don’t think there are any indications that we’ll see anything like what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks,” Willson said. “There’s very little risk for communities or any major infrastructure.”
According to NOAA, flood damage in the Midwest will likely exceed $1 billion, with thousands of businesses and homes destroyed in the early winter storms.
The main concern for Baton Rouge residents is pooling or standing water as a result of high river levels, Willson said.
Claudette Reichel, AgCenter extension housing specialist and director of the LaHouse resource center, said students should act quickly if standing water or leakages infiltrate their homes or apartments.
“If there’s any leakage, students should immediately report it to their management, preferably in writing, and should not wait for the maintenance crew to come,” Reichel said. “They should do what they can to clean and dry the area to prevent mold.”
Students should expedite the drying process by utilizing air conditioning and heating systems or hair dryers or by bringing necessary items outdoors to prevent mold growth, Reichel said. Any items that are wet for more than three days can encourage the growth of mold.
“Time is of the essence when it comes to wetness,” Reichel said. “Get it dry and get it dry fast.”
Louisiana’s downriver location, mitigation structures and lack of tributaries will help to protect the state from flooding, Willson said.
“Rivers tend to dampen and elongate the flood event,” Willson said. “The longer these high flows have to move down a river, the more they’ll spread out and lower.”
Louisiana also benefits from a sophisticated mitigation system set in place by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Willson said.
“The impact here is a lot less than the impact in the Midwest,” Willson said. “The Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government have set up a series of structures and procedures to mitigate any issues we may have in the lower 300 miles of the Mississippi River.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has strict procedures for considering river height and projected forecasts when determining when water should be diverted to other sources, Willson said.
Volume is one of the strict measurements considered when assessing the river’s security.
Only 1.25 million cubic feet of water per second can pass through the river at New Orleans. When the river exceeds its suggested volume, water is diverted through the Bonnet Carré Spillway, the Morganza Spillway and the Old River Control Structure, Willson said.
A lack of tributaries flowing into the lower Mississippi River also helps to reduce the risk of flooding. No new water enters the Mississippi River through tributaries in the lower 300 or so miles, he said.
Recent measurements show river levels in Baton Rouge are within a secure height, Willson said.
“The levels will drop gradually over the next couple of weeks,” he said. “Unless there’s additional rainfall or other storm events they’ll drop down to what is typical of the February time frame.”