VIDALIA — The Vidalia Riverfront is under eight feet of water at its deepest point, but Mayor Hyram Copeland said he has the utmost confidence in the city’s flood-control system.

The mayor said the Riverfront is 80 percent flooded, with about 55 acres covered with water from the edge of the riverfront to the bathrooms at the RV park.

“Naturally there is seepage coming water coming from the ground, but it’s nothing major,” Copeland said.

He said once the seepage gets to a height of 2 inches, pumps automatically engage and drain the water in a matter of minutes.

“Everything is working to our expectations,” Copeland said.

Meanwhile downriver, a steel, 10-ton floodgate was slowly raised at the Morganza spillway for the first time in nearly four decades, unleashing a torrent of water from the Mississippi River, away from heavily populated areas downstream.

The water spit out slowly at first, then began gushing like a waterfall as it headed to swamp as much as 3,000 square miles of Cajun countryside known for small farms and fish camps. Some places could wind up under as much as 25 feet of water.

Opening the Morganza spillway diverts water away from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and the numerous oil refineries and chemical plants along the lower reaches of the Mississippi.

“We’re using every flood control tool we have in the system,” Army Corps of Engineers Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh said Saturday from the dry side of the spillway, before the bay was opened. The podium Walsh was standing at was expected to be under several feet of water Sunday.

As of 3 p.m., the river stood at 60.34 feet, the highest-record water level ever at Natchez. Flood stage at Natchez is 48 feet. The predicted crest of the river is 63.5 feet on May 21.

Until flood worries wane, The Natchez Democrat will post daily river updates at noon and 5 p.m. Breaking news and other alerts will be posted throughout the day, as available. Also, a live feed of the Natchez river level is constantly updated 24-7 on our home page.

Send flood-related questions or submit flood photographs to newsroom@natchezdemocrat.com