NEW ORLEANS — On Friday, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards joined the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and parish officials to provide an update on saltwater intrusion in the Mississippi River following the Unified Command Group meeting in New Orleans.
"Most of the state has been experiencing prolonged drought and above-average heat, and has presented a number for challenges including wildfires, drought, heat-related deaths, injuries and so forth and now saltwater intrusion," Edwards began.
"Additionally, the Mississippi River is forecasted to reach historic lows over the next several weeks."
The governor said that while above-average rainfall is expected in the winter, that is still several months away, and that precipitation is needed not just in Louisiana, but more so further north in the Ohio Valley region of the country.
"I issued a state of emergency declaration on September 5th," Edwards said. "I can tell you in the next couple of days we will be requesting an emergency declaration from the federal government as well for the purpose of getting more federal agencies involved to the extent that can be helpful. But also authorizing us to take emergency protective measures with some level of reimbursement available from the federal government should that federal emergency declaration be granted."
Colonel Cullen Jones of the Army Corps of Engineers said that an additional 25 feet of height will be added to a protective underwater sill (or levee) created over the summer to slow the progression of the saltwater wedge headed north up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico.
Col. Jones said without significant rain, the underwater sill will be overtopped and a plan is in place transport upriver freshwater by barrage to local water treatment plants.
15 million gallons are expected next week, but will need to increase to 36 million gallons of freshwater per day as needed.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.