Comite diversion numerical model study

The Comite River diversion project is designed to reduce flooding along the Comite and Amite Rivers during flood events by diverting flow from the Comite River into the Mississippi River above Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The flow is diverted from the Comite River along a diversion canal to the Lilly Bayou Control structure. This structure allows the Comite River flow to enter the Mississippi River floodplain. A numerical model was created to evaluate the impacts associated with this addition of water to the Mississippi River. A 2D Adaptive Hydraulics numerical model was created to quantify the system impacts associated with the diverted flow in conjunction with possible system modifications to control the flow pathway. The impact of the diversion was determined to be heavily dependent on the flow and stage of the Mississippi River. At higher stages and flows, the flow diverted by the Lilly Bayou Control structure is negligible in relation to the much larger Mississippi River flow and therefore the impacts of the added flow are significantly less than at lower Mississippi River stages. At lower Mississippi River flows and stages, the added flow from the Lilly Bayou Control structure has a larger impact on the inundation due to the larger relative amount of diverted flow in relation to the Mississippi River. Ultimately, the diverted Comite River flow has some incremental increase in water levels at all Mississippi River stages.