Effects of Closing Wax Lake Outlet and Constructing Management Unit and Channel Training Levees in the Atchafalaya River Basin.

This study was concerned with the development of rating curves and water-surface profiles in the Atchafalaya River basin for various flow conditions with Wax Lake outlet open and closed and with and without land and water management unit and channel training levees. Model results indicate that closing Wax Lake outlet would raise stages throughout the basin upstream of the closure levee and lower stages in Wax Lake outlet downstream of the levee. Closing Wax Lake outlet raised stages upstream as far as Simmesport 0.1 ft for the lowest flow tested 50,000 cfs. The maximum amount of rise in stages progressively increased with flow until the closure levee was overtopped and then decreased for over-topping flows. Model results also indicated that constructing Buffalo Cove management unit levee would have no effect on average annual crest stages except in the West Atchafalaya basin upstream of the unit constructing Upper Belle management unit levee would increase average annual crest stages in the East Atchafalaya basin upstream of the unit and in the West Atchafalaya basin just upstream of and along the unit and constructing Atchafalaya River training levees would increase average annual crest stages in the West Atchafalaya basin by as much as 1.1 ft and lower those in the East Atchafalaya basin by as much as 0.6 ft. Author