“The greater good” is a phrase that has to be tearing at the hearts of the folks who live in and near the Atchafalaya Basin and Atchafalaya River.

Intellectually, they may understand that their sacrifices are required so the large metropolitan areas of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and even smaller communities such as LaPlace and Reserve which are so critical to the state’s economic well being, can remain high and dry.

Emotionally, though, their scale of feelings have to range from misery and fear to a justifiable anger as they perform one final check before evacuating, cognizant of the fact that their homes, their foundation of life, will be swallowed in a watery grave.

Unfortunately, this action was unavoidable.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, about as popular as a thunderstorm on Mardi Gras Day, got it right when it opened the Morganza Spillway this past weekend. Simply put, there was no alternative.

No doubt this a decision the Corps did not take lightly. Some, including some of the state’s highest ranking political officials, insist the agency waited too long before beginning the process.

But credit the Corps for its diligence in exploring every option, always mindful of the chain of tragic events to follow once the first bay of the spillway was opened.

Imagine the gut-wrenching emotions for the person who ultimately had to give the order, knowing his decision would forever alter the course of thousands of lives.

Although opening of the Morganza may eventually dump up to 25 feet of water in some areas, and displace thousands, the potential for a much larger disaster was ominous. Thus, “the greater good.”

Without the spillway to relieve the pressure of the rising Mississippi River, floodwaters could have wreaked havoc in much more densely populated areas, potentially affecting more than one million people.

Although the threat of a levee breach made for a sexier sound byte, the more legitimate threat has always been the possibility of a runaway barge or ship gouging a levee. Either way, the results would have been catastrophic.

If water had poured into New Orleans in Biblical proportions, less than six years after Hurricane Katrina, then the Crescent City in all probability would have become the Forgotten City. Rebuilding would have been a dream.

Now, she stands a chance.

Mother Nature is an unpredictable and feisty lady. She unleashed her fury on the Midwest with record snowstorms in the winter and torrential rains in the spring, thus reviving the overused and tiresome “once-in-a-lifetime” event. Cities from the Midwest, down through Memphis and Vicksburg, Miss., have helplessly watched the Mississippi turn city streets into tributaries.

Now the river has its sights set on south Louisiana. Because of the sacrifices of a few, the majority should stay high and dry.

When the water recedes, when residents return to their homes and try to patch together pieces of their shattered lives, we all should all give thanks to those who were in harm’s way.

And lend a helping hand.