From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Peigneur is located in the U.S. State of Louisiana 1.2 miles
(1.9 km) north of Delcambre and 9.1 miles
(14.6 km) west of New Iberia, near the northernmost
tip of Vermilion
Bay.
History
The lake was a 10-foot (3 m) deep freshwater lake popular with sportsmen until
an unusual man-made disaster on November 20, 1980 changed the
structure of the lake and surrounding land.[2][3][1]
Disaster
In 1980, when the disaster took place, the Diamond Crystal Salt
Company operated the Jefferson Island salt mine under the lake, while a Texaco oil rig drilled down from the surface of
the lake searching for petroleum. Due to a miscalculation, the
14-inch (36 cm) drill bit entered the mine, starting a
remarkable chain of events which at the time turned an almost
10-foot (3.0 m) deep freshwater lake into a salt water lake
with a deep hole.
It is difficult to determine exactly what occurred, as all of
the evidence was destroyed or washed away in the ensuing maelstrom. The now
generally accepted explanation is that a miscalculation by Texaco
regarding their location resulted in the drill puncturing the roof
of the third level of the mine. This created an opening in the
bottom of the lake, similar to removing the drain plug from a
bathtub. The lake then drained into the hole, expanding the size of
that hole as the soil and salt were washed into the mine by the
rushing water, filling the enormous caverns left by the removal of
salt over the years. The resultant whirlpool sucked in the drilling platform,
eleven barges, many trees and 65 acres
(260,000 m2) of the surrounding terrain. So much
water drained into those caverns that the flow of the Delcambre Canal
that usually empties the lake into Vermilion Bay was reversed, making the
canal a temporary inlet. This backflow created, for a few days, the
tallest waterfall ever in the state of Louisiana, at 164 feet
(50 m), as the lake refilled with salt water from the Delcambre Canal
and Vermilion
Bay. The water downflowing into the mine caverns displaced air
which erupted as compressed air and then later as 400-foot
(120 m) geysers up
through the mineshafts.[4]
There were no injuries and no human lives lost in this dramatic
event. All 55 employees in the mine at the time of the accident
were able to escape thanks to well-planned and rehearsed evacuation
drills, while the staff of the drilling rig fled the platform
before it was sucked down into the new depths of the lake, and
Leonce Viator, Jr. (a local fisherman) was able to drive his small
boat to the shore and get out.[4] Three
dogs were reported killed, however. Days after the disaster, once
the water pressure equalized, nine of the eleven sunken barges popped out of the whirlpool
and refloated on the lake's surface.
Salinity
The lake had salt water after the event, not as a result of
water entering the salt mine, but from the salt water from the
Delcambre Canal and Vermilion Bay, which are naturally salt or brackish
water. The event permanently affected the ecosystem of the lake by changing the lake
from freshwater to saltwater and increasing the depth of part of
the lake.
Aftermath
The drilling company, Texaco and Wilson Brothers paid $32
million to Diamond Crystal and $12.8 million to nearby Live Oak
Gardens in out-of-court
settlements to compensate for the damage caused. The mine was
finally closed in December 1986.[4]
Since 1994 AGL
Resources has been using Lake Peigneur’s underlying salt dome as a Storage and Hub
facility for pressurized natural gas.[5][6]
See also
References
- Gold, Michael. "Who Pulled the Plug on Lake
Peigneur?", Science 81, November 1981, 56.
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