Paging Jackie Clarkson

In the year of our lord 2011, during the most recent time of river flood crisis, one New Orleans City Councilperson proposed a rather pro-active strategem.

Officials keeping watch over New Orleans levees have not reported any errant vessels on the river, though the matter is a top priority.

"One of the big issues that we're facing is motor vessles, barges in particular, we need to keep them off the levees," Susan Macclay of the West Bank levee authority said Thursday during a news conference.

All vessels are supposed to stay 180 feet away from the slope pavement, she said.

City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson on Thursday barge owners and operators who don't moor their vessels that the city will sink all untethered vessles.

"We can't afford to have barges breaking loose, breaking levees," she said.

We never got any details about how Jackie's barge defense system was supposed to work. Would she fire the cannon at them from Washington Artillery Park? Are there still damnable torpedoes in the river somewhere?  It's probably classified.  But somebody knows the answer and we may have need of it now. According to Channel 6 we are already under attack. 

A dock along the Mississippi River was damaged Thursday when a pair of unloaded barges struck it. The dock is located at the Piety Street Wharf. The barges remain intact. Damages done to the dock are still being assessed.

Hopefully whatever naval forces we have to scramble aren't built by Metal Shark.  Because it looks like Plan A for taming the river is off again.

The Army Corps of Engineers has delayed opening the Morganza Spillway above Baton Rouge indefinitely in response to slightly better forecasts for water heights at the spillway and upriver, corps spokesman Ricky Boyett said Thursday (June 6).

But officials warned that future rainfall could still force the corps to operate the emergency structure to move part of the Mississippi’s high-water flow into the Atchafalaya River during the next two months.

“Operation of the structure will be a consideration until the Mississippi River crests and begins to fall,” said a press release issued by the corps. “The expected crest at Morganza is on about June 15th, but it will then remain high for two weeks or more.”

“The Army Corps of Engineers only intends to operate the structure when needed as to not put additional water into the Atchafalaya Basin,” the news release said.

Okay well we will stand by for whenever that is.  Maybe if the levees keep failing upriver, the problem will take care of itself.