Battling saltwater on the Mississippi
An invisible surge of Gulf of Mexico salt water has crept up the tail end of the river, twisting along levees through bayous and marshes toward New Orleans.
Since June, the wedge-shaped layer of dense salt water has been pushing upstream at the bottom of a river so weakened by drought that it cannot keep the ocean water at sea.
And that has caused three months of woes in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Compromised water plants that draw from the river. Constant trips for bottled water. Shrimp boat docks forced to truck in ice. Salty showers. Health concerns. And worries that it will only further fuel coastal erosion.
👋 Nicole Fallert here, and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). This week, we talk with Paste BN national correspondent Chris Kenning about his reporting on the threat of the saltwater incursion in the Mississippi.
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Solutions that feels like 'stopgap measures'
Chris Kenning traveled to the Mississippi River last month to speak with farmers and people in the shipping industry about the possibility of another year of drought on one of the country's most vital waterways.
Along with reporting on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge, he learned that one of the consequences of the drought was an incursion of salt water to the lower Mississippi.
Officials now predict the wedge could reach a New Orleans area drinking water intake by late November, instead of late October, as had been feared − if it arrives at all. Even then, they said, salt levels there may not reach thresholds that prompt health warnings.
It was a particular conversation with Louisiana oyster farmer Mitch Jurisich Jr., who lives at the very tail end of the Mississippi that cuts out to the gulf, that brought the story of the incursion to life.
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Jurisich, 60.
Hearing the voices of people in small towns on the end stretches of the Mississippi is "really important," Kenning said: Paste BN "being able to portray how everyday peoples' lives are impacted by national issues like drought and climate change and a river, that's important."
Now, the threat of the saltwater incursion to municipal drinking water in New Orleans has slowed, which gives more time to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ and Louisiana officials’ efforts to combat it. Those efforts include installing reverse-osmosis filters and running new pipes that can bring fresher water into New Orleans.
But these solutions are "stopgap measures," Kenning said. They seem as if they're good enough plans for now, but more permanent solutions will need to come to the surface if local communities want to make drinking water accessible, sustainable and equitable.
Thank you
Stories like this one by Chris Kenning are how our communities know when to act and how to make change for the better. This kind of work wouldn't be possible without the support of you, our subscribers. Thank you.
Best wishes,
Nicole Fallert