BELLE CHASSE, La. — As the saltwater wedge continues upstream through the Mississippi River, more than just our drinking water could be affected.
Farmers across Southeast Louisiana are bracing for what’s to come.
“The intrusion is just so great at the present time it’s overflowing the levee they built and that’s where the major problem is going to affect all the citrus growers, all the vegetable farmers,” Joseph Ranatza, owner of Star Nursery in Belle Chasse said.
Right now the wedge is in lower Plaquemines Parish, but experts say it could reach Belle Chasse by October 3.
“It’ll kill our business,” Ranatza said.
And he’s not the only one.
“Plus, we have I think somewhere between 5 and 700 head of cattle so we’re also having to look at being able to help the cattle industry as well,” Plaquemines Parish President Keith Hinkley said.
“There’s [a citrus farm] down the road, one right next door to me is my son in law. We’re all hoping and praying things will get better for us. Now will that happen? I don’t know,” Ranatza said.
He’s trying to come up with possible solutions.
“We’re thinking about our drainage canal. Taking our back hole in the drainage canal, dig a big hole and put a pump in there and suck that water and connect our lines,” Ranatza said.
But every solution he’s come up with so far would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he’s already spent about that much trying to recover from recent hurricanes.
“We’re just now getting back on our feet and we're in the process of building a brand-new greenhouse, because we’re expanding and now we come up with the salt intrusion so we don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
So now, he says he just has to wait and hope for the best.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. no idea at this point,” he said.
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