Man, Just When Oysters Were Getting Reasonable Again…

Army Corps of Engineers Opens Gates at Bonnet Carre Spillway to Save New Orleans

The Army Corps of Engineers began opening some floodgates at the Bonnet Carre spillway upriver from New Orleans on Monday.

With the river continuing to rise, the corps expects the spillway to take pressure off levees in populated areas to the south. Fresh water from the river will be diverted into Lake Pontchartrain, and from there out into the Gulf of Mexico.

While the diversion will help stabilize river levels, the fresh water also poses a danger to oyster grounds that are beginning to recover from last year’s BP oil spill.

Shucks.

categories Big Blows, Life, Military Thingies, People | | datetime May 9, 2011 10:23 am

10 Responses to “Man, Just When Oysters Were Getting Reasonable Again…”

  1. Rob says:
    May 9, 2011 at 10:45 am

    Looks like they’ll have to open the Morganza Spillway, too. You’ll have new respect for Old Man River if you ever see how massive those spillways are and then hear how little they relieve the Mississippi. The opening of the spillway is one of the coolest things you’ll ever see, though.

  2. aelfheld says:
    May 9, 2011 at 11:07 am

    Mother will not be happy – she gets annoyed when she can’t have her oyster & artichoke soup.

  3. tree hugging sister says:
    May 9, 2011 at 11:11 am

    She can HAVE it, but it’s gonna cost a king’s ransom, aelf. You weren’t around when I did the post on that first plate of Oysters Bienville we ALMOST ordered after Ivan…chingao!

    I’ll bet it is, Rob ~ long as your schwamp cottage isn’t in the way, eh? Gonna suck for a lot of people.

  4. Dave E. says:
    May 9, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Had to shell out for them, eh THS?

  5. Rob says:
    May 9, 2011 at 11:27 am

    It’s not much of a concern for the Bonnet Carre. There are some fishing camps nearby who may not appreciate it but they all knew where they were building.

    Not sure about what happens when they open the Morganza. I grew up riding my bike down Airline Hwy (US 61) to the spillway. We used to swim there and catch snakes, crawfish, and crabs along the way.

  6. Rob says:
    May 9, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Pearl of a pun, Dave.

  7. tree hugging sister says:
    May 9, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    Way to muscle in on the thread, man.

  8. aelfheld says:
    May 9, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    THS, no she won’t have it. The restaurant where she gets it won’t make or serve it if the price gets too high.

  9. Rob says:
    May 9, 2011 at 5:58 pm

    Thought I was going to keep my clam shut?

  10. Dave E. says:
    May 9, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    Fine, I’ll just clam up.

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