The US Army Corps of Engineers is planning to barge 36 million gallons of freshwater daily into the lower Mississippi River near New Orleans as saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico continues to threaten drinking water supply, officials said Friday.
The move comes as water levels are plummeting for the second consecutive year after this summer’s blistering heat and low rainfall triggered extreme drought over parts of the central US.
As water levels drop, the threat of saltwater intrusion grows in Louisiana as ocean water pushes north into drinking water systems, unimpeded by the Mississippi’s normally mighty flow rate.
The Mississippi River is forecast to reach “historic lows over the next several weeks,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a Friday news conference.
Now that really sounds sustainable in the long term…
So many countries have really successful desalination projects powered by solar farms, New Orleans could have all it’s water needs met if they invested in infrastructure rather than constant disaster mitigation.
New Orleans and Louisiana could stop this by making the chemical plants use river water. Pull as much as you need, filter it if you need, and that’s that. Right now they pull from the aquifers because they don’t have to filter it.
Or corruption and graft.
New Orleans…invest in infrastructure
Hahahahaggh! Whew. Good one.
But solar farms are communism! /s
There is a similar section in “The Heat Will Kill You First” by Jeff Goodell. This will only happen more and more each year.
