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Flooding erodes riverbanks
Published Thursday, April 3, 2008
VIDALIA — While the Mississippi River continues its upward slide along the riverbanks, it is slowly but surely licking away some portions of those banks.
The river is expected to stand at 51.5 feet at 7 a.m. today, and is expected to crest at 53.5 feet April 8.
The City of Vidalia took a precautionary measure Monday by placing a 100-foot long and 20-foot wide visqueen sheet and weighing it down with sandbags in front of the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center.
Sandbags were also anchored to the shore and submerged along the bottom of the sheet to hold the riverbank in place.
“We first noticed the bank was getting eroded when somebody drove over the river and looked down and saw it,” Riverfront Administrator H.L. Irvin said.
The riverfront is ultimately safe because a subterranean concrete wall will protect it from getting too eroded, but the parts of the bank the city is trying to save are all new dirt, Irvin said.
“We’re trying to save what dirt we can,” he said.
The cautionary measure was done according to U.S. Corps of Engineers standards, Irvin said.
“The corps came by this morning and said we had done exactly what needed to be done temporarily,” he said.
In the future, the corps is going to come in and add some rocks to shore up the riverbank so the city won’t have to take the same kind of riverbank saving measures again, Irvin said.
Meanwhile, the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office is continuing patrols of the levees to ensure they are not intentionally or unintentionally damaged, and in recent days has received calls regarding people riding ATVs on the levees.
The sheriff’s office can cite or arrest anyone riding an ATV or any motorized vehicle on the levee unless they are on a designated roadway, CPSO Public Information Officer Kathleen Stevens said.
Riding a vehicle off of the designated roadways on the levees is a felony offense.
Cases of people “cutting or destroying a levee” have been successfully prosecuted in the past, Stevens said.
As for the levees themselves, everything is standing strong, Fifth District Levee Board President Reynold Minsky said.
“There haven’t been any problems as far as we’ve seen,” Minsky said.
Comments
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 5:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like you might want to wear a lifejacket if you walk the path along the river.
Posted by GopherBaroque (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Louisiana has always been a river flood plain. Man tamed it temporarily but one day the river will take it back. The Atchafalaya River was once a channel of the Mississippi. The Old River Structure almost failed in 1973/74 and was repaired. I'm not a doom and gloom kinda guy but like they used to say in the commercials of the 60's and 70's, "You can't fool mother nature."
Posted by picture_music101 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 7:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
YAY WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by drawpaintsing (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I heard on the 10 o'clock news last night that the water in the Mississippi in Vicksburg was 20 feet above the normal. This causes the barges to hit the bridge. But he did say that the bridge was structured enough to withstand these impacts.
Posted by Roy (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I alway thought is was a stupid idea to build on the old Vidalia Mat-field. As many times that the water would flood it only an idiot would build there.
Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You're right on Roy. As I was running and eating my chocolates I remember mom saying stupid is as stupid does.
Posted by ford30 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
people think about for a minute if the watter gets high enough to flood the riverfront again after it has been built up much higher than it was last time water was on the mat field.. we got more problems to worry about than that... also think about the curve in the mississippi river... thats a lot of force on the banks of natchez... water is under downtown may just be that downtown natchez will fall in the river... very possible.. but hey lets not be so negative .. vidalia is not the only city with a nice riverfront they are all over the u.s. so lets enjoy the nice things that we have in vidalia and natchez and hey nothing is ever exempt from castastrophe.. if its meant to happen there is nothing any of us can do to prevent whats going to happen..
Posted by overthehill60 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Across the river in Vidalia, Mayor Hyram Copeland said the water would have to rise to approximately 75 feet before it threatened the construction or structures on the riverfront."
Quoted from Mayor Copeland a few days ago.
He didn't didn't mention that erosion could possibly take down some of the structures or make the property an eyesore. I'm sure Mr. Copeland is having some sleepless nights worring about this. Hopfully it will be ok but, in the future think your plans out long and hard before playing games with the Mighty Mississippi. When you are playing games with something so powerful your chances of winning a very slim.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on April 3, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Copeland's 75 foot mark may be sea level??? If so, the reading on the Natchez gauge would be 58 feet??
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You're right Gary, but 75' sounds a lot safer that 58' when the crest prediction continues to increase.
Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope Natchez is still there when I come through next weekend.
Posted by jack (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
water was on the mat field in 73 and the levee was just built up some 5 feet 75 feet will make the river go to the old levee come on mayor you can do better than that also remember vidalia almost flooded then from back water that could not get out not the river water vidalia built a levee around where the industrial park is now we need to be aware of the river and high water
Posted by ntzmom (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 11:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have nothing intelligent to say, but yikes!
So seriously, the new things in Vidalia could flood, and the tunnels running under downtown Natchez are a problem now?
I obviously know very little about the flood issues, but I am getting freaked out.
Does anyone think Natchez could have a problem with the high water and currents?
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