Old River Control Structure channel and lock were also part of the original facility design. Subsequent expansion created what is now known as the Old River Control Complex, when the Auxiliary Structure, which became operational in 1986, was added to reduce pressure on the original floodgates after extensive damage caused by the flood of 1973. The Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station, completed in 1990, also provides an additional measure of control at the site. Water from the Mississippi is normally diverted into the Atchafalaya Basin only at Old River, where floodgates are routinely used to redirect the Mississippi's flow into the Atchafalaya River
Morganza to the Gulf benefits to the marshes and wetlands in the Terrebonne Basin. Safe Harbor: Fishermen will no longer have to leave the area in a storm event. A Reconnaissance Study for the Morganza, Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Protection Project was authorized by Congress in 1992. Following completion of this report, the United States Congress authorized a Feasibility Study in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1995 (Public Law 103-316). The Feasibility Study was completed in March 2002 and the Chief of Engineers letter was forwarded to the Secretary of the Army in August 2002 and supplemented in