Atchafalaya Basin Atchafalaya River has been a backswamp, low area between the paths of the Mississippi River through the process of delta switching, which has built the extensive delta plain of Louisiana. The natural levees of the Mississippi River (on the east) and the levees along its previous course (now Bayou Teche) on the west define the Atchafalaya Basin. The central basin is further bordered by man-made levees designed to contain and funnel floodwaters released from the Mississippi at the Old River Control Structure and the Morganza Spillway south toward Morgan City and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico. Historically there were
Flow control structure dam across a shallow stream, forcing all of the water to one side to allow it to be easily collected in a canal. This can keep a canal full even with very low flows in a stream. Another simple device is a series of concrete piers installed in a spillway to slow down the descending water so that it does not cause damage at the bottom of the spillway. Flow control structure A flow control structure is a device that alters the flow of water in a stream, drainage channel or pipe. As a group these are passive structures since