Morganza Spillway stilling basin, and substantial flooding occurred in the Atchafalaya Basin. After the 1973 flood, the structure was restored to its original condition. The issue of opening the gates to keep the Mississippi in its current place was next raised in May 1983. Although the gates were not opened, Louisiana Highway 1 running across the spillway was closed, and the Corps of Engineers built a ring dike and put a blanket of earth across a section of the spillway to contain water pouring underneath it. During the Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood in 1993, officials decided to leave the gates
Spillway Spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure that the water does not overflow and damage or destroy the dam. Floodgates and fuse plugs may be designed into spillways to regulate water flow and reservoir level. Such a spillway can be used to regulate downstream flows – by releasing water in small amounts before the reservoir is full, operators can prevent sudden large releases