Mile 81.4 LBD — Caernarvon Fresh Water Diversion Structure

John Ruskey

26 Apr 2026 � 2 min read

Possible exit to the Gulf of Mexico via long series of lakes, chutes, bayous and bays that empty into Cape Breton 20-25 miles SE.

The tight bend Poydras Bend experienced crevasses at Poydras and Caernarvon. The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion was opened in 1992 to allow the natural process of sedimentation to help restore the disappearing swamps south and eats of here. As result of this opening, paddlers could portage over the levee and enter the waterway below for a possible expedition conclusion in the Gulf of Mexico following the long series of lakes, chutes, bayous and bays that empty into Breton Sound 20-25 miles SE. You would have to make some open water crossings along the edge of Breton Sound, and work your way back up another opening further downstream, such as Mardis Gras Pass, or maybe Baptiste Collette. The possibilities for conclusion of your Mississippi River expedition are almost endless from this opening on downstream!

The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion has come under fire from area anglers in recent years. The structure is a controlled break in the Mississippi River levee designed to allow fresh water into the marshes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Early in the diversion's life, from 1992-1994, research by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Coastal Restoration Division showed a net increase in marshland of 406 acres in the sampled area. DNR trumpeted the results, and also pointed out that the area held seven times the amount of freshwater plants than before the diversion was opened and supported fewer than half the amount of saltwater flora. But a fundamental flaw with the Caernarvon structure may be that it was designed to minimize the amount of sediment that passes through its five gates. The facility is a true freshwater diversion, not a sediment diversion, which is also true for Caernarvon's larger neighbor to the west, the David Pond Freshwater Diversion. Some people believe that Dredging is the only solution to saving the coast. Indeed, the state's coastal master plan calls for a sediment diversion that would be capable of dumping 5,000 cubic feet per second of river water into the Violet area. The project is scheduled for the first implementation period of the plan, which includes all projects completed by 2031. This phase of the plan also calls for sediment diversions of 50,000 cfs near Black Bay, 250,000 cfs near Braithwaite, 5,000 cfs near White Ditch, 50,000 cfs near Myrtle Grove and 50,000 cfs near Empire. The plan also includes small freshwater diversions into Bayou Lafourche and the Blind River. Sediment diversions are key components of the master plan because saving Louisiana's coast is impossible without them, according to Graves. The plan calls for $20 billion to be invested in dredging and other mechanical forms of marsh restoration, but that technique is very inefficient. (Nola.com)

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