USACE closed Steele Bayou gates around noon Thursday

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the gates on the Steele Bayou Control Structure just before noon Thursday.

Drew Smith, chief of the Water Management Section with the Corps, confirmed the information earlier today.

The Mississippi River is projected to crest at 48.1 feet on Sunday, March 1.

On Feb. 26, the Yazoo Backwater was at 95.7 feet, which has 460,000 total acres underwater in Mississippi’s South Delta including 176,000 acres of cropland.

The Backwater is predicted to crest at around 96 feet. At 96 feet, 470,000 total acres will be flooded including 183,000 acres of cropland.

While completing the pumps in the Yazoo Backwater will not completely prevent flooding in the South Delta, it can prevent quite a lot of it. Estimates from the Mississippi Levee Board are that about 154,000 acres could have been saved from floodwaters earlier this month.