The Army Corps of Engineers announces it will open the Morganza Spillway on June 2nd. It will help alleviate pressure on Mississppi River levees south of Pointe Coupee Parish. It’s the third time in history the Morganza Floodway structure will be opened and the first since 2011.

“Weather experts say this has been the wettest stretch on record for the Lower Mississippi River Valley,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “And we’ve had more days of the Mississippi River at flood stage then ever before.”

The opening of the Morganza will divert Mississippi River water into the Atchafalya Basin, flooding thousands of acres of farmland. The water will head south towards Morgan City.

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the St. Mary Levee District will begin installing a temporary barge flood on Bayou Chene in southern Assumption Parish on Tuesday. Edwards says it will take about a week to install and it will prevent backwater flooding for communities east of Morgan City.

Edwards is requesting federal assistance due to the ongoing threat of river flooding across Louisiana.​

More From 97.3 The Dawg