West LA With the Flow Report for the Week of May 22 - May 28, 2023

Archive of river flows, floods, spills and boil advisories by watershed region in the western drainage area of Louisiana

Find your location in the west drainage area Regions 1, 2, 4 and 5:

Table updated June 4, 2023

Region 1

The Red River collects rainfall and runoff from 57,000 square miles of northern Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas before entering Louisiana’s Caddo Parish. The Red River and tributaries gather runoff from Caddo Parish, Bossier Parish, Webster Parish, the west half of Claiborne Parish, Red River Parish, DeSoto Parish, Nachitoches Parish, the east edge of Sabine Parish, the south half of Winn Parish, the west half of Grant Parish and the northwest corner of Rapides Parish.

Water Bodies include Caddo Lake, Nantachie Lake, Cypress Lake, Bodcau Lake, Swan Lake, Half Moon Lake, Lake Ninock

Flows

Red River drains an area of 57,000 sq miles of Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma before entering LA’s Caddo Parish. Red River continues south through LA, draining the bounded area known as LA Watershed Region 1. 

• flow north of the border at Spring Bank, AR is unrated, we see it around 76500 cfs and 28 feet deep (flood stage 37 ft);
• flow near Hosston has been monitored for just one year, as such, the flow is unrated, 25 feet deep is pretty standard;
• at Shreveport, flow is unrated, 24 ft deep is observed (flood stage 30 ft)
• at L&D #5 flow is unrated, commonly 130 ft deep;
• at Coushatta, unrated, 28 ft deep (flood stage 31 ft)
• at L&D #4, near Red Oak, flow is unrated, measures around 120 ft deep (04-18-23)

Flat River drains an area of 949 sq miles of Bossier Parish. The flow

• at High Island is unrated, usually measures around 22 ft deep
• at Curtis is unrated, 12 ft deep is not uncommon (updated 04-18-23)

Black Bayou drains an area of 177 sq miles of Caddo Parish. The flow at Rodessa is unrated, we have reported it at 12 ft deep. (updated 04-18-23)

Paw Paw Bayou drains an area of 80 sq miles in Parish. Normal flow near Greenwood is around 30 cfs and 3.8 ft deep. (updated 04-18-23)

Bodcau Bayou drains an area of 410 sq miles of Arkansas before entering Caddo Parish. The flow is monitored

• at Springhill, flow is unrated, it is not uncommon to find this at 10 cfs and 8.5 ft deep
• At Sarepta, flow is unrated and commonly measures 8.5 ft deep;
• At Bodcau Bayou Lake Dam near Shreveport, unrated and has measured 165 ft deep (flood stage is 172 feet) (updated 04-18-23)

Bayou Dorcheat drains an area of 605 sq miles in Webster Parish. The flow

• Near Springhill normal flow is around 300 cfs and 8 ft deep (flood stage 11ft);
• Near Minden is unrated, commonly 10.5 ft deep (flood stage 11 ft); (updated 04-18-23)

Twelvemile Bayou drains 3137 sq miles of Caddo Parish. The flow near Dixie is unrated, 23 ft deep is common (updated 03/21/23)

Cypress Bayou Lake receives drainage from an area of 163 sq miles in Caddo Parish. The flow

• near Keithville normal flow is less than 130 cfs and 5 ft deep;
• near Benton, normal gage height is 12 ft deep (updated 03/21/23)

Saline Bayou drains an area of 154 sq miles of Bienville Parish. Normal flow near Lucky is around 170 cfs and up to 5.6 ft deep. (updated 03/21/23)

Red Chute Bayou drains an area of 980 sq miles in Bossier Parish. Normal flow

• at Dogwood Tr. Rd near Bossier City, 20 ft deep;
• at Sligo normal flow is less than 3000 cfs and 30 ft deep;
• near Elm Grove is unrated, 25 ft deep (updated 03/21/23)

Caddo Lake receives the drainage for 2744 sq miles in Caddo County.

• at the dam near Mooringsport flow is unrated, common to see it around 170 ft deep (flood stage 172 ft) (updated 03/21/23)

Bayou Pierre drains an area of 879 sq miles in Caddo Parish. The flow

• at Shreveport, unrated, around 150 ft deep;
• near Lake End normal flow is 2580 cfs and 17.3 ft deep.
• near Powhatan, 22 ft deep (updated 03/21/23)

Cross Bayou at Hwy 80 west of Greenwood, 2.5 ft deep (03/21/23)

McCain Creek near Blanchard, 2.7 ft deep (updated 03/21/23)

Nantachie Lake, Nantachie Creek reservoir draining 80 square miles of Grant Parish, flowing southeast to join the Red River. Flow near Aloha is unrated, 14.5 ft deep (03/21/23)

Low Flows (0), High Flows (0), Floods (0) 

Drinking Water Advisories (3)

June 4 - Benton (Bossier) Boil Water Advisory issued by the East Central Bossier Water System for all of its customers. Thunderstorms late Saturday afternoon caused a three-phase power loss that shut down the water facility, said the Bossier Parish utilities director. Generator power was restored manually. The system now is regaining water and pressure, customers are advised to boil water as a precaution.

June 2 -   Arcadia (Bienville) Boil Water Advisory issued by the Town of Arcadia due to a planned service outage.  The maintenance work on the town water system began Thursday, June 1, causing a system-wide outage.  Services were expected to be complete and restored by 5 a.m. June 2. Customers must boil their water following the depressurization as contaminants could have entered the water system during the outage.

April 25 – Haughton (Bossier)  - Boil Water Advisory issued by the Town of Haughton effective immediately for residents from Big Red Circle to Freedom. Date of Occurrence: 4-27-23. Citizens are encouraged to bring water to a rolling boil for three minutes before using.

Hazardous Algae Bloom (0)

Spills (1)

• May 8 - unknown amounts of motor oil reported spilled into a ditch that is close to the city lift station on Allen St in Minden - LA

 Region 2

The Dugdemona River and its tributaries drain Region 2 down to Catahoula Lake, joining the Red River as it heads down to the Gulf.  The northern mid-line of Region 2 features includes flows into the Caney Creek Reservoir on the west side of the drainage basin with Little River taking flows on the eastern side of the basin.  Region 2 includes the southern part of Lincoln Parish, the east side of Bienville Parish, most of Jackson Parish, the majority of Winn Parish to its eastern border, the west half of Caldwell Parish, the east half of Grant Parish, all of Lasalle Parish, most of Catahoula Parish to the south border, all but the northwest corner of Rapides Parish, and the north part of Avoyelles Parish.  

Flows

Flood sensitive areas in this drainage basin include the southwest quarter of Hodge, the east side of Jordan Hill, the centre and east side of Deville, centre of Pineville, the south of Centre Point. Parts of Rapides Parish and the majority of Avoyelles Parish are extremely vulnerable to overland flooding.

Water bodies include Catahoula Lake, Caney Creek Reservoir.

Dugdemona River drains an area of 740 sq miles in Jackson Parish. Normal flow

• near Jonesboro is not rated, we see it around 9 ft deep
• near Joyce is unrated, can be 1000 cfs and, 14 ft deep; (updated 03/21/23)

Little River drains an area of 1899 sq miles of Caldwell and LaSalle Parishes. The flow

• At Rochelle, unrated, we see this location measuring around 30 ft deep;
• near Rochelle normal flow is around 440 0cfs and 27 ft deep (flood stage 32 ft) (updated 03/21/23)

 Big Creek drains an area of 51 sq miles of the east side of Grant Parish.  Normal flow at Pollock is 50  cfs and 3 ft deep, (updated 03/21/23)

Low Flows (0), High Flows (0), Floods (0)  

Drinking Water Advisories (0)

Hazardous Algae Bloom (0)

Spills (0)

Region 4

Draining the western half of DeSoto Parish, all but the eastern-most sliver of Sabine Parish, all of Vernon Parish, the west slice of Rapides Parish, all of Beauregard Parish and the west half of Allen Parish, the vast majority of Calcasieu Parish (the east bit is found in Region 5), the northwest corner of Jefferson Davis Parish and the west half of Cameron Parish.

Bayou Toro drains an area of 148 sq miles in Sabine Parish. Normal flow at Toro is 190 cfs and 5.5 ft deep; (updated 03/21/23)

Bayou Anacoco drains an area of 365 sq miles in Vernon Parish. Normal flow near Rosepine is 800 cfs and 7.5 ft deep. (updated 03/21/23)

 Sabine River drains an area of sq miles in Parish. The flow

• at Logansport normal flow is 5600 cfs and 24 ft deep.
• At Toledo Bd Reservoir near Burkeville Texas is 171.85 ft deep
• Near Bon Wier normal flow is 13200 cfs and 24 ft deep (flood stage 30 ft);
• Near Ruliff, TX a normal flow measures 11000 cfs and 22 ft deep (flood stage 24 ft) (updated 03/21/23)

Bundick Creek drains an area of 120 sq miles of Beauregard Parish. The flow

• at DeRidder, normal flow is less than 300 cfs and 7.5 ft deep. (flood stage 20 ft)
• at Spillway near DeRidder, flow is unrated, we have seen it at 6.5 ft deep (flood stage 97 ft)(updated 03/21/23)

Calcasieu River drains an area of 1700 square miles of Rapides Parish and Allen Parish. The flow

• Near Glenmora normal flow is less than 2200 cfs and 11 ft deep (flood stage 12 ft);
• near Oberlin normal flow is less than 3000 cfs and 11 ft deep (flood stage 13 ft)
• near Kinder, normal flow is  5700 cfs and 13 ft deep (flood stage 16 ft);
• at I-10 near at Lake Charles, unrated flow can be very shallow, less than 1 ft deep, temp and conductance are measured here
• at Cameron, still experiencing equipment malfunction (updated 03/21/23)

Low Flows (3), High Flows (0), Floods (0) 

Bayou San Patricio is flowing below normal near Benson - flow has come up overnight - running 6.45 ft deep at .45 cubic feet per second

Bundick Creek is flowing low at DeRidder - down again overnight - 2.89 feet deep at 10.6 cubic feet per second

Calcasieu River is flowing much below normal at Glenmora - 5.16 feet deep at 36.5 cubic feet per second

Drinking Water Advisories (2)

May 17 -  Concordia Parish -  Boil Water Advisory issued for Fairview South and Smiths Village mobile home parks due to a main water line break. 

April 21 - Oakdale (Allen) Boil Water Advisory issued by the City of Oakdale for all customers. Officials say the water storage tanks in Oakdale are caving in and could allow contaminants in to the water system. The city says it is working with engineers and the state and is nearing completion of the installation of a new storage tank. However, residents will remain with the boil advisory until further notice.

Hazardous Algae Blooms (0)

Spills (0)

  Region 5

Draining a large part of Rapides Parish (centre), the south two-thirds of Avoyelles Parish, the west side slice of Pointe Coupee Parish, the eastern-most slice of Allen Parish, all of Evangeline, all of St. Landry, all of Acadia Parishes, the southeast corner of Calcasieu Parish, the majority of Jefferson Davis Parish (south), all of Lafayette Parish, all of St. Martin Parish, the western-most slice of Iberville Parish, the majority of Cameron Parish (east) all of Vermillion Parish, all if not most of Iberia Parish, most of St. Mary Parish.

Here the Mississippi River clears the Old River Works dropping down 22 feet to meet the flow of the Red River, combining to reach one million cubic feet per second flow volume.  From here we have a new river, called Atchafalaya.  This legendary flow deposits sediment from the central plains over the final 150 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

Flows

Red River flows into Avoyelles Parish where the Old Man River lock distracts the Mississippi river into the Atchafalaya River. USGS WaterWatch does not display monitoring stations on the lower portion of the Red River.

Bayou Cocodrie drains an area of 240 square miles of Rapides Parish. The flow at Clearwater is above normal, 151.50% above mean at 1030 cfs and 16.39 ft deep. (updated 02/17/23)

Bayou Vermillion drains an area of square miles in Lafayette Parish. The flow

• near Carencro flow is unrated, commonly found 12 ft deep;
• near Lafayette is unrated, we see this around 6.5 ft (flood stage 11 ft)
• at Surrey St. in Lafayette flow is unrated, has been measured around 1220 cfs and 9 ft deep;
• at HWY 733 near Lafayette is unrated, 7 ft deep;
• at Perry, flow is unrated, average 1200 cfs and 3 feet deep (flood stage 9 ft);
• at Vermillion Bay near Intracoastal City, unrated, 3.5 ft, temperature and conductance are measured here (updated 04-05-23)

Bayou des Glaises Diversion Channel drains an area of sq miles in 284 sq miles in Avoyelles Parish. The flow

• at Moreauville, normal flow is around 1200 cfs and 10 ft deep;
• near Moreauville is unrated, normally around 11 ft deep; (updated 04-05-23)

Bayou Courtableu drains an area of 715 square miles of St. Landry Parish. The flow

• At Washington normal flow is around 4000 cfs and 24 ft deep (flood stage 28 ft) (updated 04-05-23)

Atchafalaya River officially begins at Simmesport, Louisiana, taking in the combined drainage flows from the Red River and Mississippi River, 87570 square miles.

• Flow at Simmesport is unrated, 275000 cfs and 22 ft deep.
• at Melville, flow is unrated, can be 17.5 ft deep depending on the tide;
• At Butte La Rose, flow depth is around 12 ft deep (flood stage 20 ft)

(updated 04-05-23)

Low Flows (0)

Drinking Water Advisories (4)

May 15 – Opelousas (St Landry) -  A boil advisory is in effect for some Opelousas residents due to emergency water repairs. The water department crew is currently on site according to officials. The following streets are under the boil advisory: Honeysuckle Lane, Courtyard Street, Cottage Street, Gallery Street, Lakewood Street.

May 9 - Church Point (Acadia) – Boil Water Advisory issued by Mire Branch Water Corporation due to water service disruption.  Water has been shut off for customers on Gayle Drive, Eddie Lane, and St. Romain Lane to repair a water line.

May 1 - Ville Platte (Evangeline) – Boil Water Advisory issued by Reddell Vidrine Water District's due to issues with water supply. The problems began after an overnight electrical issue occurred in the treatment plant, officials say. The boil order will remain in effect until rescinded by the water system upon notification from the Louisiana Department of Health.

April 17 - Elton (Jefferson Davis)  Boil Water Advisory issued for the town of Elton following water valve repairs completed on April 14. Following restoration of service customers will be under boil advisory until further notice.

Hazardous Algae Blooms (0)

 Spills (0)

Report Key:

WTLA reports federal, state and regional source data on stream flows, groundwater levels, oil and other hazardous materials spill incidents by watershed, along with reporting hazardous algae blooms, algal toxin alerts at recreational freshwater bodies and in drinking water reservoirs.  Information in this report is presented in the watershed area of occurrence, based on the location given by the source.

Flows: 

With The Flow describes Louisiana rivers, bayous and tributaries from headwaters to outlet.  Locate your “home body” (the river or bayou nearest where you live) to see where the flow originates, how high it has to be for minor flooding to occur.  Log in to USGS Waterwatch current streamflow for real time measurements at the monitoring station nearest you and sign up there for high flow alerts.

Flow volume can change rapidly during storms and rain events.   Streamflow data is subject to review as sensors at the monitoring stations do malfunction from time to time.   Refer to USGS Provisional Date Statement for more information.

Groundwater Monitor: USGS Groundwater Watch site has been removed, groundwater test wells are no longer measured and posted.  WTGA will bring updates as USGS upgrades their monitoring system.

Impaired Water Bodies (IWB) 303d List

The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) Program provides a mechanism for integration of implementation efforts to restore and protect the nation’s aquatic resources. Through this process the nation’s waters are assessed, restoration and protection objectives are systematically prioritized, and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and alternative approaches are adaptively implemented to achieve water quality goals with collaboration of State and Federal agencies, tribes, the regulated community, and the public.

New Vision of the CWA 303(d) Program

A new long-term vision for assessment, restoration, and protection under the CWA 303(d) Program for 2016 through 2022 (new vision) has been described whereby states may identify and prioritize watersheds for these restoration and protection efforts under the CWA 303(d) Program. The primary goals of this new vision of the CWA 303(d) Program include prioritization, assessment, protection, alternatives, engagement, and integration. The new vision will guide the realization of our clean water goals in a manner that recognizes lessons learned from the past two decades of CWA 303(d) Program implementation and addresses new challenges with innovative solution.

Drinking Water Advisories

• Posted by watershed

Hazardous Algae Blooms (HABs) Beach Alerts

Cyanobacteria are commonly referred to as ­blue-green algae; dense accumulations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria are referred to as “hazardous algae blooms”.  Toxins may be present both before and after cyanobacteria are observed.  WTLA posts the latest HABs reports around the state in the watersheds where they are occur.

Spills

Spill Emergency: 

Call Louisiana State Police 1-225-925-6595 within 1 hour of the spill incident.

call LSP HAZ MAT hotline 1-877-925-6595 or 225-925-6595

*The hazardous materials hot line is staffed by the Right-to-Know Unit and is the reporting point to the LSP for a chemical spill or emergency. Any transporter, manufacturer, storage facility, or anyone involving the handling of any regulated hazardous material must contact the LSP immediately to report any spillage or threat to public safety.

National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-8802

24-hour emergency line staffed by US Coast Guard for oil spills on water.

An emergency spill situation is defined as any condition that could reasonably be expected to endanger the health and safety of the public or cause significant adverse impact to the environment.

For non-emergency spills:

Call Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) 24 hour Hotline 1-225-342-1234

Or, SPOC office line  1-225-219-3640 (within 24 hours of the spill, follow up with a written report in 7 days)

_DEQ-CustomerServiceCenter@la.gov

WTLA gathers data from LA DEQ, LADH, USGS WaterWatch, USGS Groundwater Watch, the National Weather Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sources.  Our accuracy is dependent on these sources. 

End Notes:

Louisiana's oil spill rules generally follow the federal standards.

Any unauthorized spills of one barrel (42 gallons) of oil or more is considered the reportable amount.  These and spills of unknown amount must be reported to DEQ within 24 hours, or in the case of an emergency event, see above, call State Police immediately.

All reportable spills (emergency or not) must be followed up within 7 days with a written report.  Consult with LA DEQ for guidance on detailing your spill incident, check the national requirements for reporting oil spills, and LA release notification requirements.  Seek out information on Spill Prevention Planning.

 “oil” includes but is not limited to: gasoline, crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with wastes, and any other petroleum related product.

“chemical” spills include all toxic substances, note “Any transporter, manufacturer, storage facility, or anyone involving the handling of any regulated hazardous material must contact the LSP immediately to report any spillage or threat to public safety.”  Refer to LA Department of Health Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology page for more information on reporting (https://ldh.la.gov/page/834)

Note that all spills must be cleaned up, whether or not they are reportable.

The OEC Surveillance Division protects the citizens of the state by conducting inspections of permitted and non-permitted facilities, by responding to environmental incidents such as unauthorized releases, spills and citizen complaints, natural disasters, and other emergency situations, by providing compliance assistance to the regulated community when appropriate, by assessing and monitoring air and water quality for compliance with standards, and by promoting case information management for vigorous and timely resolution of issues of non-compliance.