NEW ORLEANS — Last week, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng signed an Emergency Proclamation in preparation for saltwater intrusion, which is expected to be a threat to Jefferson Parish by the end of October.
She will provide an update on the parish's ongoing efforts during the council meeting on Wednesday.
Jefferson Parish councilmembers Jennifer Van Vrancken and Scott Walker spoke to Eyewitness News about the saltwater intrusion and possible options when it reaches the parish.
“I think what we're trying to tell people at this moment is, look, don't freak out. This really is not the situation even after a storm where we don't have water, you're going to have water still coming into your home,” tells Eyewitness News in a Morning Show interview Wednesday.
“So if you need to partake, take precautions, let's say you have hypertension, just touch base with your doctor to know the water, and sodium levels you might need to be mindful of. If you turn off your eyes, just know where that turn-off is, you know, things that you want to take as a precaution.”
Vrancken says lots of residents have a lot of questions about how the saltwater intrusion will hit them.
“They asked about restaurants are they going to make ice and cook, and you know, we have a lot of people who don't want to cook every night like me and we want to go out and enjoy a restaurant,” she says.
“So, I've been in touch with the Louisiana Restaurant Association also based here in my district, and they are in touch with the governor in touch with LDH and also sorting through this and a lot of restaurants have purchased reverse osmosis equipment so that they can continue to cook prepare ice and do those kinds of things. They're not all that expensive. If you have a large restaurant, you can do that.”
Councilmember Walker says there are a lot of unknowns surrounding how much of an impact the saltwater will have on the parish’s water system when it reaches the river intakes at the end of next month.
“I think the biggest question right now is that there are a lot of unknowns here,” Walker says.
“We just don't know. Luckily, we have about a month for defects and a part of Jefferson Parish to see how these mitigation measures that are being put in place, and how much of an effect they'll actually have. And that's why we have to wait and see. We feel like we'll be impacted in some way, shape, or form in the next month. But how much is the big question right now.”
When asked about possible saltwater mitigation measures such as reverse osmosis machines and barged water Walker echoes what the parish president has said, the parish is just too big.
“I know the parish president has mentioned this. And it's something that I think we looked at and look past it because our system is just too big,” he says.
“It really can do, I believe, up to 100,000 gallons or something like that day. And we have many more millions of gallons than that. So, the mitigation measures sound good on the surface, but how much will things like that actually help us when push comes to shove? And that's what we need to kind of wait and see. Like, if you can dilute it a little bit based on what we're going to get? Is that going to be enough to make it somewhat normal and still drinkable or at least usable to where it's not going to eventually corrode pipes or something like that? That's what we don't know yet.”
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