Water Resources: Hydraulics and Hydrology
in the approach channel.
Q ..
That had to be a very difficult engineering problem--trying to control the Mississippi River
from going where it wants to go?
A:
That's right. There's no theory about that. You've got to figure out what might happen
based on experience. Then test a model and see if you're right. If you're not,
improvements in the design should be made as indicated by the model tests.
Were you involved at all in the solutions to some of those problems that occurred there in
the `73 floods when they had that big erosion on the old structure?
A:
Yes, I remember that. I went out after the flood to look at what had happened.
Improvements of the old structure so it wouldn't fail were discussed, but it was decided
that a new large control structure that could handle more water was the best solution.
It takes a lot of work on the engineering design of something like that because you're
playing with a pretty powerful force there?
A:
That's right. Yes. There's no great structural and concrete design problem. With respect
to hydrology, the size of large floods and how high the water levels will be in the river are
known. But when flows from a large river are diverted and controlled so the whole river
won't go down the Atchafalaya, that is a difficult hydraulic problem. But it's still there,
I guess.
It hasn't washed away yet.
A:
No.
On something like that, you really have to very seriously look at your foundation
structures, don't you?
A:
That's right. I recall that there was a foundation problem underneath the concrete control
structure. Sheet steel pilings were driven down about 60 feet, and the top of the pilings
were imbedded in the base of the concrete control structure. This greatly strengthened the
foundations.
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