As expected, the threat of sand boil outbreaks at the prison was of major concern. There are two levees protecting the prison from rising water. The threat of a levee break necessitated relocation of the 5,000 inmate population to temporary tent quarters on higher ground. The levee was contained within 36 hours and the inmates returned to the facility without incident. The most significant problem with high volume flow on the Mississippi, aside from public safety and welfare, is the peril to commercial traffic in treacherous currents and the sharp bends in the river.
Barge traffic is essential to life support systems such as public utility plants.
The coal-fired electric generating plant operation at New Roads, Louisiana, just downstream from Red River Landing, is normally supplied by coal barges. In 1997, the river landing at New Roads became inaccessible for two weeks when the loading facility went under water. Had the flooding been as prolonged as in 1927 or 1983 the coal supply would have been exhausted. With the current increasingly treacherous around the bends in the river below Red River Landing, the Coast Guard Traffic Safety Division enforced strict regulation upon the length of barge tows and the number of securing lines from the onset of the record volume flow. Although 24 of the barges contained grain and coal, one barge contained benzene and toluene.