Bonnet Carré Spillway
![The Bonnet Carre Spillway diverting excess Mississippi River water.](/Images/godic/202501/01/BonnetCarreOpeningDay1032.jpg")
![Construction of Bonnet Carré Spillway, Louisiana, 1929.](/Images/godic/202501/01/Bonnet_Carre_construction_1929_-_Negative_2671033.jpg")
![The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway on May 9, 2011](/Images/godic/202501/01/Army_Corps_operates_spillway_in_Louisiana1033.jpg")
![Opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in March of 1997.](/Images/godic/202501/01/Bonnet_Carre_Spillway1033.jpg")
The Bonnet Carré Spillway (pronounced /'bɒni: 'kɛri:/) is a flood control operation in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana –about 12 miles (19 km) west of New Orleans –it allows floodwaters from the Mississippi River to flow into Lake Pontchartrain and thence into the Gulf of Mexico. The construction of the Spillway was completed in 1931.