Area floodgates closed to stem flood risk

Several floodgates in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes remain closed because of high tides, levee district officials said.

A continual south wind blowing from a low-pressure system hugging the Gulf Coast is causing the rise in tides, said Windell Curole, general manager of the South Lafourche Levee District.

Locks at Larose and Golden Meadow on Bayou Lafourche have been closed as needed during the high tide periods, Curole said.

In Terrebonne, the barge gate on the Humble Canal has been closed since 5:00 p.m. Thursday, said Terrebonne Levee District Director Reggie Dupre.

Sector gates on bayous Terrebonne and Petite Caillou have been closed periodically.

Crews have been monitoring the opening and closing of the gates, Dupre said.

Barge gates take an hour and a half to close; more expensive sector gates require a shorter period to shut, he said.

The Company Canal in Bourg has also been closed, according to an Army Corps of Engineers release. The gate requires around an hour to shut.

As of Monday, Morgan City and Berwick had not had any floodgate closings, officials in those cities said.