The Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley New Orleans (MVN) continues dredging operations in response to active shoaling deposited by historic long-term high river stages (record flood event created by record precipitation levels). The MVN is now concentrating efforts on the Crossings Above New Orleans as the channel is Southwest Pass has mostly been recovered.  All three dustpan dredges and two hopper dredges are working on the Crossings and one cutterhead dredge continues working on the channel in Southwest Pass.

 

TRANSIT RESTRICTIONS AT SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP):                                 

1. The Bar Pilots maximum draft recommendation was increased to 46 feet (freshwater) at 1000 hours on August 28, 2019.
2. The Crescent River Port Pilots maximum draft recommendation was also increased to 47 feet (freshwater) on August 28, 2019.
3. The Federal Pilots maximum draft recommendation remains 45 feet (freshwater).

 

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE(S) IN SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP):

 C.R. McCASKILL: Weeks Marine’s cutterhead dredge C.R. McCASKILL is dredging at Mile 15.86 Below Head of Passes (BHP) on assignment from Mile 15.7 BHP to Mile 16.8 BHP on the western side of the channel. The cutterhead began dredging on July 24, 2019 under Southwest Pass Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #2-2019.

 

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE(S) IN THE HOPPER DREDGE DISPOSAL AREA (HDDA):

R.S. WEEKS: The industry cutterhead dredge R.S. WEEKS (Weeks Marine) continues dredging at the HDDA, all material is being beneficially used in the Pass A’Loutre Wildlife Management Area (PALWMA).  The contract is to remove 12 million cubic yards (mcy) of material, approximately 85  mcy of material have now been beneficially utilized in the PALWMA.

 

CUTTERHEAD DREDGE(S) IN THE NEW ORLEANS HARBOR:

 CAPTAIN FRANK: Weeks Marine’s cutterhead dredge CAPTAIN FRANK is dredging on assignment in the New Orleans Harbor at Mile 99.46 Above Head of Passes (AHP).  The dredge is working a few hundred feet off the dock at Nashville Avenue Wharf C  but the discharge pipeline is extending out into the deep-draft channel (1300 feet or so).  The Lower Mississippi River Vessel Traffic Service has implemented, “no meeting or overtaking between deep-draft vessels or for deep-draft vessels and tows with more than two barges under control”.  The dredge began working under New Orleans Harbor Cutterhead Dredge Rental Contract #1-2019 on August 30, 2019.  A photo provided by the Port of New Orleans is attached, the Port’s cutterhead dredge NED S. REED is also working inside of the CAPTAIN FRANK’S footprint.

 

DUSTPAN DREDGE(S) ON THE CROSSINGS ABOVE NEW ORLEANS:

WALLCE McGEORGE: The industry dustpan dredge WALLCE McGEORGE has completed the temporary dredging assignment at Philadelphia Crossing (Mile 183 AHP) and is moving upriver to Baton Rouge Front (Mile 231 AHP).  The WALLACE McGEORGE will work the central 350 feet of channel at Baton Rouge Front. The industry dustpan dredge commenced dredging on the Crossings on May 9, 2019.

 HURLEY: The Corps dustpan dredge HURLEY continues dredging operations on the central 250 feet of channel at Red Eye Crossing (Mile 224 AHP).  The government dustpan dredge commenced dredging on the Crossings on May 4, 2019.

JADWIN: The Corps dustpan dredge will commence dredging the central 250 feet of channel at Philadelphia Crossing (Mile 183 AHP) later today after returning from a temporary assignment on the shallow-draft channel.

 

HOPPER DREDGE(S) ON THE CROSSINGS ABOVE NEW ORLEANS:

NEWPORT:  The industry hopper dredge NEWPORT (Manson Construction) continues dredging the central 250 feet of channel at two locations: Missouri Bend (Mile 222 AHP) during daylight hours and alternating to Sardine Point (Mile 219 AHP) from dusk to dawn.  The NEWPORT is dredging under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #8-2019. This contract was extended, the hopper dredge will remain on the Ship Channel until early November 2019.

STUYVESANT:  The industry hopper dredge STUYVESANT (Dutra Group) is dredging the central 300 feet of channel at Bayou Goula Crossing (Mile 198 AHP). The STUYVESANT began dredging under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #10-2019 on June 14, 2019 and is expected to continue dredging on this contract until early October (2019).

 

The Carrollton Gauge (New Orleans) reading at 0900 hours today was 5.73 feet, with a 24-hour change of – 0.13 feet. 

 

The graph below is reproduced from NOAA’s National Weather Service website and represents an experimental product to account for the complexity of accurately predicting long-range precipitation.  This forecast projects stage levels based on expected precipitation for 2 days (top) and 16 days (bottom) and was developed within the North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS) computer model and highlights Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF).  Along with the forecasts, a shaded area is also provided to indicate uncertainty for the forecast each day in the future. These plots are experimental and not an official forecast product.