Big Changes on the Bayou

“This dam is a clog in the artery of Bayou St. John.” — Mark Schexnayder, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries

A team of construction workers used a diamond-embedded sawblade Wednesday morning to begin cutting through the concrete top of a dam on Bayou St. John at Robert E. Lee Drive in New Orleans that blocks the flow of water from Lake Pontchartrain. The removal effort, which began two weeks ago, will take at least another month, said Justin Boyce, a supervisor with Anders Construction.

The dam removal will allow water to flow freely from the lake to the southern end of the bayou for the first time in about 50 years, and allow the area south of the dam to be repopulated with a variety of fish species — including speckled trout — and submerged aquatic vegetation, said Mark Schexnayder, deputy assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The removal of the dam will allow the Orleans Levee District to vary water flow from the lake to the bayou by strategic openings of a flood protection gate at the bayou’s mouth, which will reduce salinity levels in both the bayou and the City Park lagoon system, which receives water from the bayou, Schexnayder said.

The $234,000 project is partly financed with a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hydro-restoration grant program, aimed at removing outdated dams and restoring historic water flows in coastal areas. The grant, administered by the Louisiana State University Sea Grant program, was matched by funds from the Orleans Levee District, which is acting as local sponsor for the project.

The Orleans Levee District also will pay to dredge a 400-yard-long path from the lake into the bayou, where its mouth has shoaled in, said district executive director Gerry Gillen.

Requests to remove the dam date to the early 1980s, when local community groups banded together to oppose a larger dam structure at the bayou’s mouth. But the requests didn’t gain stream until the Army Corps of Engineers was reviewing whether to upgrade the pre-Katrina gate structure at the bayou’s mouth as part of efforts to improve the levee system.

That’s when the St. John Bayou Conservation Alliance was formed by members of a dozen New Orleans neighborhood groups. Representatives of the alliance and the various agencies involved in removing the dam, including New Orleans District A City Councilwoman Susan Guidry, met at the dam site Wednesday morning to formally kick off its removal.

Bayou St. John was a key reason why New Orleans was colonized by French explorers in the early 1700s. Native Indians told the explorers that the waterway stretched from the lake to an area close to the river, and that with a minor portage over the Metairie Ridge, it would provide a faster route from the Gulf of Mexico to what would become their new colony.

Small ships and boats could enter the lake from Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound through the Rigolets and Chef Menteur passes, avoiding the often shoaled-in mouth of the Mississippi River and the river’s strong currents.

Over the years, settlers used the bayou as a way to get seafood from the lake and the Gulf to markets in the French Quarter, eventually building the now filled-in Basin Canal to connect the bayou with the Quarter.

For years, the small dam at the bayou’s mouth was the only barrier to hurricane storm surges. But that changed in the 1980s, when a gate structure was built near the bayou’s mouth.
The dam contains three valves that allow water to flow south, but only one valve could be fully opened, limiting the ability of fish and other organisms from moving farther into the bayou, Schexnayder said.

The University of New Orleans and Wildlife & Fisheries installed several monitoring devices in the bayou and the City Park lagoons to collect information about water quality with the dam in place. With the dam removed, the monitor network will be used to determine the best conditions to entice additional fisheries and plant life into the bayou.

That data will be used to determine when the gates will be opened, Gillen said. They’re likely to be closed throughout the hurricane season and to block high water levels caused by strong winter cold fronts. But the water flow changes are likely to restore some long-lost species to the southern parts of the bayou, said Schexnayder and Rusty Gaude, a fisheries scientist with Sea Grant.

“I was standing on the dam that’s being moved recently, and there was a garfish in the water that was bigger than the girl that was interviewing me, at least 5 1/2 feet tall and as big around as a watermelon,” Gaude said. Schexnayder said a dead Gulf sturgeon, listed as an endangered species, also was spotted in the area between the dam and the lake this week.

Both of those species could find their ways into the southern end of Bayou St. John, in the central part of the city, and Schexnayder said they even could be joined on rare occasions by manatee or dolphins. “The state record sheepshead was caught in Bayou St. John” before the dam was built, Schexnayder said. “This dam is a clog in the artery of Bayou St. John.”

http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/12/removal_of_dam_on_bayou_st_joh.html#incart_river
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photos below by Charlie London

After years of effort on the part of many members of our community, the outdated Bayou St. John water control structure, or as some have called it the “waterfall dam”, at Robert E. Lee and the bayou, is being demolished.

The move to demolish the structure coalesced in December 2008 as neighborhood leaders called on the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work with the Orleans Levee District to provide a sector gate in good working order and to remove the dam.

Please join Councilmember Susan Guidry and other concerned residents for an opportunity to celebrate the results of the hard work and persistence of everyone who has worked to have the dam removed. We will be gathering at the site on Robert E. Lee and the bayou on Wednesday, December 12, at 9 a.m. to cheer the demolition and take some celebratory photos! Rescheduled to Wednesday, December 12 at 9 a.m.

Information and photo above sent by: Sherri K. Wilder | Community Liaison | skwilder@nola.gov
Councilmember Susan G. Guidry – District A | www.nolacitycouncil.com
City Hall | 1300 Perdido Street | New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
Office: (504) 658-1012 | Fax: (504) 658-1016
…

December 5, 2012 UPDATE: REMOVAL WORK HAS BEGUN!

Currently, the unanticipated Scenic Rivers permit process is being worked.

The $234,000 project will be executed by the Orleans Levee District, and is partially funded by the Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant program. The funding came from NOAA hydro-restoration grants.

ABC 26 News did a story on this project in April, 2012.
http://www.abc26.com/news/newswithatwist/wgno-changes-in-store-for-bayou-st-john-20120409,0,137786.story

The project is currently estimated to be completed by January, 2013.

Bayou St. John – Removal of the Obsolete Flood Control Structure at Lake Pontchartrain
Start Date: 01/01/12
Duration: 2 years
Project Leader: Gillen, Gerard J.
Affiliation: Orleans Levee District
Sea Grant Funds: $94,000
Matching Funds: $103,330

Objectives:
1 – To attain permits for removal of old flood control structure.
2 – To remove old flood control structure hindering water flow into Bayou St. John.
3 – To schedule and implement openings of the new flood gate at Lake Pontchartrain.
4 – To monitor the increased recruitment of larval and juvenile estuarine fish, crabs and mussels.
5 – To monitor the improved water quality in Bayou St. John and City Park lagoons and waterways.
6 – To increase use of the Bayou by recreational groups.

Methodology:
The Orleans Levee District (OLD) has authority over the flood control structures located in Bayou St. John, New Orleans, Louisiana. One of the structures, built in 1962, is outdated and has been replaced by a more modern flood gate. The OLD plans to remove the old flood control structure located at Robert E. Lee Blvd and Bayou St. John. Burt-Kleinpeter, Inc. researched the hydrology of the area and has made recommendations on removing the structure. Permits will be attained from the Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. The RFP will be advertised and awarded to a contractor. The contractor will remove the old flood control structure. Monitoring of the Bayou will continue by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and other organizations.

Rationale:
Bayou St. John was once a natural tributary of Lake Pontchartrain, navigable from the Lake into the heart of the city of New Orleans. It was used as the main transportation waterway of goods into the city. Currently, the two flood control structures on the bayou inhibit both navigation and the natural water flow. The older structure, built in 1962, is composed of a cement bulkhead that incorporates a drain and butterfly valves to allow some water flow. The butterfly valves, meant to remain open, are mostly non-functional, with one valve open and others closed or mostly closed. The new flood gates, meant to replace the older structure, are located approximately 0.25 miles toward the lake from the old structure; these gates have opening and closing capability, which the operation of could increase water and fish access into the bayou. It also has navigation gates that can be opened when water levels allow, but are not presently used.
The new flood gate provides flood protection to the city of New Orleans. The old control structure only inhibits the exchange of biota and water from the lake.

The Coastal Use Permits for the dredging and demolition projects are almost approved. The public notices for the dredging and demolition projects have been advertised.

Questions? Please contact:
Albert “RUSTY” Gaude’
Area Fishery Extension Agent
Jefferson, Orleans, St. Charles, St. James Parishes
LSU AgCenter/ Louisiana Sea Grant Program
Yenni Building/ Ste. 300
1221 Elmwood Park Blvd. Jefferson, LA 70123
Office 504-736-6519 Fax 504-736-6527
Mobile 504-908-9713

http://www.laseagrant.org/pdfs/BSJFinalPPT.pdf

Sea Grant Funds Project to Demolish Outdated Bayou St. John Water Control Structure

Bayou St. John –- In an effort to improve water flow and recreational fisheries along Bayou St. John, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Sea Grant programs through a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center are funding the removal of a non-functional water control structure on the bayou. The $234,000 project will be executed by the Orleans Levee District (OLD), and the NOAA Restoration Center/GOM Sea Grant partnership is contributing $95,000 toward the cost.

A recent study concluded the old water control structure is unnecessary. The cement structure, built in 1962, was originally designed with open butterfly valves to control water flow from Lake Pontchartrain. But years of valve maintenance problems rendered the control structure superfluous. In 1992, additional floodgates were built to replace the old structure.

“Because the new, much higher sector gate structure is the primary protection for storm surge entering the bayou, the original purpose of the 1962 structure to protect against storm surge is no longer necessary,” said Gerard Gillen, OLD executive director.

The primary benefit of removing the old control structure will be to restore historic hydrologic flow into the bayou, allowing for the re-establishment of Bayou St. John’s aquatic vegetation and the growth of native marine life. Officials also hope that the revitalized bayou will attract more recreational activity along the City Park lagoons that feed off the bayou.

“This is an excellent opportunity to improve access to Bayou St. John for fish and for the human residents of the surrounding communities,” said Mel Landry, a NOAA marine habitat resource specialist located in Baton Rouge.

for more info:
http://www.laseagrant.org/comm/2012/watercontrolstructure.htm

Article in the Times Picayune:
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/04/meeting_this_afternoon_on_remo.html