Osama bin Ladin was killed in Pakistan by Navy Seals on May 1. The news of his departure preempted prime time TV. Did Obama know that he was upstaging Trump for the third time in a single week? (Birth Certificate, Correspondent's Ball and Celebrity Apprentice). Of course with a burial at sea, Trump can claim the whole bin Ladin episode was faked. Will we ever discover who the Donald fired? The first retaliation on Friday May 13 killed 80 police recruits in Pakistan.

But then attention returned to New Orleans, this time because of the Mississippi River.

On May 11 New Orleans saw the river level rise past 17 feet with 1.25 million cubic feet of water flowing past the city each second ( if you have been following this site you know this is a critical number). The Bonne Carre spillway was fully open (openedMay 9), with 300 of 349 pins, diverting the maximum amount of 250,000 cfs. We'd be under water without it but we are going to need more. The Corps of Engineers announced that they either had to open the Morganza flood way for the first time since1973 with disastrous impact along the Atchafalaya River or face flooding in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

I run or walk on the levee any day I don't play tennis. Usually the water is far away, the batture is dry and you look down to see the boats. The batture is full of trees and life and it's fun to explore. It's a linear park that changes every day. Today it is full of water. You can see the tops of the trees but the water has climbed to within a few feet of the top of the levee. That's about 15 feet higher than normal. 

Stand on the westbank levee looking down river. Look left and you see water is within about ten feet of the top of the levee. There are waves and ships and tugs, but you have to look up to see them. Look right and down (about 20 feet) to see the streets and houses. The local media says enjoy, but don't fall in.

On Saturday May 14 the Morganza was opened for the first time since 1973 and for the first time ever to prevent flooding. The plan is to open up to half of the bays. We'll see.  ( In 1973 I was a junior in college and I-10 across the Atchafalaya flood plain had not been completed. US highway 190 crossed the spillway between Opelousas and Lafayette. It was a harrowing trip. Morganza was opened to save the Old River Control Structure. I decided to stay in Houston and try to make a life. )

It's funny how we trust the Corps to control the River. However as I mentioned in 2008, just look at the silt flowing out into the gulf and realize that no flooding this spring means no renewal of the marsh. The image on this page is another example of the futility of the fight to restore the marsh. After the 2008 river flood the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation published a proposal to modify the Bonnet Carre Spillway so that beneficial sediments and fresh water would refresh the adjacent marsh. A "No Brainer" the plan has attracted no action, so once again in 2011 the benefits of high river levels are being wasted.

So how do you pronounce it?  Try this