Quote:
Originally Posted by duckman444
The morganza spillway has been opened since the 70's. Don't remember the exact year but it was in the 90's sometime.
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Here is a link to information on the Morganza spillway:
http://www.johnweeks.com/river_missi...s/lmiss24.html
It says:
Quote:
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The Morganza Floodway has never been used as planned to protect New Orleans. A flood that large has not yet happened since the project was finished in 1954. The structure was opened once, however, in 1973. While that was during a major flood, the reason for opening the structure was to take the pressure off of the Old River Control Structure just upstream. The main dam in the Old River Control project was crumbling, and if it failed completely, the Mississippi River would have changed course right then and there. The Morganza Floodway drained off enough water and the Old River Control Structure held, saving the day
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I had forgotten the reason that it was open back in'73. Can you imagine what would happen if the Old River control structure failed and got washed away when the river was at a very high level.