In efforts to backup unsafe levels of saltwater that may reach multiple New Orleans-area drinking water intakes by mid-October, the Army Corps of Engineers has taken the first steps to begin transporting 36M gallons of fresh river water by barge daily for use by local utilities.
On Friday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards joined federal, state and local officials at a news conference to explain how they were "making plans for a duration of an event and a severity of an event" that will exceed a similar saltwater intrusion in 1988.
In the coming week, the governor said he will upgrade a declaration of emergency to ensure state agencies can respond to saltwater intrusion. He will also ask FEMA to issue a federal emergency declaration, which he said could help in getting federal funds to help pay for the response.
Based on estimates, saltwater will reach Belle Chasse on Oct. 13, St. Bernard Parish's main water plant Oct. 19, Algiers water plant by Oct. 22, Carrollton water plant by Oct. 28 and the East Jefferson Parish water plant by Oct. 29, said Col. Cullen Jones, commander of the Corps' New Orleans office.
The present flow of freshwater on the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) is about 148,000 cubic feet per second, not strong enough to halt the northward flow of saltwater towards New Orleans, he told NOLA.com. The current flow is only about 10% of what it is when the river is high.
In order to get above 300,000 cubic feet per second to begin pushing it back, there needs to be about 10 inches of precipitation across the entire Mississippi Valley, and "that's unlikely according to recent National Weather Service forecasts," Jones said.
Louisiana Health Officer Joseph Kanter said local water systems will issue warnings if salt levels are predicted to go above 250 parts per million, which would pose a risk to individuals on low-sodium diets, high blood pressure and pregnant women in their third trimester who are at risk of hypertension. (NOLA.com 09/22/23) Corps to barge 36M gallons of freshwater daily to fight salt | Environment | nola.com
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