bonnet carre spillway

Many folks drive over this key resource without giving it a second thought. It offers many scenic opportunities and lots of fishing or other waterspouts activities into Lake Ponchartrain. From a flower sing prevention perspective, it does offer some pressure relief from the MS River on the levee banks, but only marginally so. When opened, it diverts only several thousand CF/M of river water into the lake (the river flows at several million CF/S when high). It does have a negative affect on the lake by adding freshwater to a saltwater lake. It's an neat drive on River road, and there's a lot to see by driving US 61 and getting off into the flood plain.

While driving up River Rd (the road along the river on the east bank) you can drive through the Bonne Carre Spillway. There are a few parking places where you can stop and get out and look over the Spillway and out to the grand Mississippi river. You may also drive through the actual spillway where there is a spot to fly radio controlled airplanes, with a picnic table and a port-o-let. This is the flood gate that was built to protect New Orleans when the Mississippi River gets too high. They open the gates to divert the water from being too high when it reaches New Orleans, thus saving the city from river flooding.