top of page

Morganza Spillway

While not directly flooded, the Morganza area has been subjected to flooding by the great river a number of times. Levee breaches or "crevasses" occurred at Morganza and Grand Levee just downriver in 1850, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1874, 1882, 1884 and 1890.   These levee breaches were massive things with one breach reportedly being more than 6000 feet wide.  While the Morganza crevasse did not recur dung the 1927  flood, a breach north of the village did occur causing widespread flooding of the local area.  

Morganza Spillway Documentary.mp4.00_03_
Morganza Spillway Documentary.mp4.00_03_

After that flood the U. S. Congress authorized a massive flood control project which included the construction of a floodway at Morganza. The Morganza Spillway is located immediately north of the town. Construction on this mammoth work began in 1939 and was completed in 1955. High water of the Mississippi is channeled between guide levees north and west of the town of Morganza and down into the Atchafalaya Basin, thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The floodgates of this facility have been used only twice—during the high water of 1973 and 2011.

For more info about the spillway, click here. 

bottom of page