Brackish water creeping up the Mississippi River may threaten Louisiana's drinking supply
For the third year in a row, Louisiana is constructing an underwater levee in the Mississippi River to slow an influx of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An influx of salt water in the Mississippi River, which feeds southeastern Louisiana's drinking water supplies, is once again creeping up the waterway.
For the third year in a row, an underwater levee is being built to slow the brackish intrusion and prevent it from reaching water intake treatment facilities.
Salt water in southeast Louisiana has become a regular occurrence in recent years, as the mighty flow of the Mississippi River has ebbed under dry conditions. Communities rely on the Mississippi's volume and current to push salt water from the Gulf of Mexico back out to sea.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness say they are closely monitoring the influx of salt water.
