The Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley New Orleans (MVN) continues responding to active shoaling in Southwest Pass (SWP) deposited by long-term high river stages (flood event).  There are three industry hopper dredges, one government hopper dredge, one industry cutterhead dredge working in SWP and two dustpan dredges working on the Crossings.  MVN advertised Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #9-2019 on May 14, 2019 and after not receiving any bids from the dredge contractors began the Emergency Callout Process – a viable solution to address this bid advertisement has yet to be reached.

TRANSIT RESTRICTIONS AT SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP): 

1. The Bar Pilots maximum draft recommendation remains at 44 feet (freshwater) as established at 1000 hours on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.  
2. The Crescent River Port Pilots maximum draft recommendation of 44 feet (freshwater) remains as established on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.  
3. The Federal Pilots increased their maximum draft recommendation to 44 feet (freshwater) on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

  INDUSTRY HOPPER DREDGE(S) IN SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP):

STUYVESANT:  The hopper dredge STUYVESANT (Dutra Group) is dredging on assignment from Mile 5.0 Above Head of Passes (AHP) to Mile 2.3 AHP.  The STUYVESANT began dredging in SWP on Thursday, March 7, 2019 under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #6-2019.  This contract should be completed around June 12, 2019

NEWPORT:  The hopper dredge NEWPORT (Manson Construction) is presently dredging on assignment from Mile 2.2 AHP to Mile 1.5 AHP and Mile 1.0 AHP to Mile 0.5 Below Head of Passes (BHP).  The NEWPORT began dredging in SWP on November 28, 2018.  The NEWPORT is working under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #1-2019.  This contract should be completed around June 5, 2019, the NEWPORT is expected to start dredging under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #8-2019 upon completion of #1-2019.

 GLENN EDWARDS: The industry hopper dredge GLENN EDWARDS (Manson Construction) is dredging on assignment from Mile 0.5 BHP to Mile 1.3 BHP.  The GLENN EDWARDS resumed dredging in SWP on Sunday, March 31, 2019 under Southwest Pass Hopper Dredge Rental Contract #7-2019.   This contract should be completed around June 2, 2019

GOVERNMENT HOPPER DREDGE(S) IN SOUTHWEST PASS (SWP):

 WHEELER: MVN’s hopper dredge WHEELER resumed dredging last night under Readiness Exercise #2-2019 from Mile 10.5 AHP to Mile 10 AHP.

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

CAPTAIN FRANK: The industry cutterhead dredge CAPTAIN FRANK is dredging on assignment in SWP from Mile 7.5 BHP to Mile 8.5 BHP on the eastern side of the channel.  The cutterhead began dredging the Ship Channel in SWP on February 23, 2019 and is expected to complete this assignment tomorrow (Thursday, May 23, 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 in the Hopper Dredge Disposal Area and is beneficially using all material in the Pass A’Loutre Wildlife Management Area.  The cutterhead dredged the Ship Channel (SWP) from December 15, 2018 to April 24, 2019 and began dredging in the HDDA on April 26, 2019.

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

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

WALLCE McGEORGE: The industry dustpan dredge WALLCE McGEORGE commenced dredging operations on the central 250 feet of channel at Alhambra Crossing (Mile 191 AHP) on Thursday, May 9, 2019.

The White Castle Anchorage (Mile 191.1 AHP to Mile 190.4 AHP) will be off limits for vessel usage while dredging operations are conducted at Alhambra Crossing.  The anchorage closure is now expected to last until the end of May (approximately May 26, 2019). 

The Carrollton Gauge (New Orleans) reading at 1500 hours was 16.81 feet, with a 24-hour change of – 0.06 feet.

The Baton Rouge Gauge reading at 1500 hours was 43.873 feet, with a 24-hour change of – 0.09 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.

Please see the attached report for complete details related to dredge assignments.