Drought-like conditions in the Midwest over the summer have created a growing water problem in the New Orleans area this fall.
Water levels of the Mississippi River have dropped low enough to make the river less resistant to a mass of saltwater flowing north from the Gulf of Mexico. This circumstance, known as saltwater intrusion, is endangering the drinking water systems in and around the city, as well as smaller municipalities to the south.
Officials in Louisiana and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say that a “saltwater wedge” could reach water treatment plants near New Orleans in October and are working to slow the influx while also bringing in more fresh water to the region. Many water treatment facilities cannot handle water with high salinity levels, which corrode pipes and cause metals in the pipes to leach into the water.
“This is a serious situation,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference on Friday. He said he was requesting a federal emergency declaration, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans signed an emergency declaration for the city on Friday. But Mr. Edwards urged people to stay calm, and state officials advised against overstocking on water.
In July, the Army Corps of Engineers built an underwater sill, or levee, in the Mississippi aimed at impeding the flow of the saltwater, which moves beneath fresh water, closer to the bottom of the river. Officials said on Friday that within days, they will begin work to make the sill 25 feet higher.
But even that will only delay the progression of the saltwater wedge by 10 to 15 days, they said. Unless there is significant rainfall soon — and forecasts say there is not — the sill will eventually be topped, Col. Cullen Jones of the Army Corps said.
The Corps of Engineers is also getting barges to transport water that can be combined with water at the treatment facilities for safe drinking. Colonel Jones said about 15 million gallons will be delivered in the coming days, but the…