CNN
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The US Military Corps of Engineers has launched building on a 1,500-foot-wide underwater levee within the Mississippi River to forestall saltwater from pushing up the river amid record-low river ranges and stream charges.

Whereas drought within the US turns into extra frequent and intense, sea degree is rising alongside the coasts. These two impacts of the local weather disaster are actually clashing towards each other in Louisiana on the mouth of the Mississippi River, the place low stream is permitting saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to push up the river, threatening ingesting water provide.

The corps introduced final week it will dredge sediment from the underside of the river and pile it up close to Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, to create what’s often called a sill, which can act as a dam for the denser saltwater within the decrease ranges of the river.

Ricky Boyett, Military Corps chief of public affairs for the New Orleans District, mentioned the “toe” of the saltwater wedge is already approaching the situation of the deliberate sill. The sill will likely be roughly 40 to 50 ft excessive underwater in a location the place the water is round 90 ft deep.

It would take one other week till the sill might be constructed excessive sufficient to dam the saltwater intrusion, he mentioned, and it “is designed to be momentary.”

Boyett defined that the river’s low stream is the primary downside proper now.

“When it falls beneath 300,000 cubic ft per second, it doesn’t have sufficient drive to maintain the saltwater at bay,” Boyett mentioned. The stream price simply north of the deliberate sill has been working round or beneath 200,000 cubic ft per second for greater than per week, in response to knowledge from the US Geological Survey.

The Military Corps has used this technique earlier than. Salt water within the Gulf of Mexico, which is far denser than the freshwater flowing within the Mississippi, often pushes up the river each 10 years, Boyett mentioned. The final time a sill was constructed on the mouth of the river was in 2012, then 1999 and 1988 earlier than that.

Boyett mentioned the issue usually resolves itself as soon as there’s sufficient rainfall upstream to ease the drought. He famous that what’s unfolding proper now could be much like the low stream seen in 2012.

“The distinction is that shortly after we constructed the sill then, Hurricane Isaac got here in and dropped 20 inches of rain elsewhere, and so it form of modified the stream somewhat shortly on us,” Boyett mentioned. “On this case, we’re taking a look at an space the place it’s actually not sufficient rain within the present forecast to alter it.”

A worsening drought within the central US has had a big influence on the Mississippi River in latest weeks. Dozens of gauges within the river basin are at or beneath their low-water threshold. The river gauge at Memphis dropped to a brand new low file on Monday – minus-10.75 ft – surpassing the earlier low file set in 1988.

The forecast from the Local weather Prediction Heart is dry, with below-average rainfall within the outlook by means of at at the very least the remainder of the week.

Because the water degree within the Mississippi River drops, saltwater intrusion is already impacting a water therapy plant in Boothville in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish, and is projected to achieve one other one in Pointe a la Hache. Each of these areas are downriver from the deliberate sill.

Boyett defined that the sill goes to be constructed north of Boothville and Pointe a la Hache as a result of the Military Corps centered on stopping saltwater from reaching Belle Chasse and cities additional north, together with New Orleans, the place saltwater intrusion doesn’t usually happen.

“Once you’re wanting on the areas beneath the Belle Chase, the smaller water intakes that Plaquemines is utilizing, the parish form of has the duty for mitigating for that saltwater as a result of it’s a pure phenomenon,” Boyett mentioned.

For residents counting on ingesting water from the Boothville facility, excessive ranges of saltwater-related substances reminiscent of sodium and chloride have been detected, and a ingesting water advisory is in impact. Plaquemines Parish officers instructed CNN that they’ve secured a reverse-osmosis machine to deal with the water and take away salt and different contaminants.

Whereas the corps expects the sill to efficiently stop saltwater from reaching New Orleans, William Candy, oceanographer and sea degree rise professional with the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, mentioned it’s going to be an more and more difficult technique shifting ahead.

The Mississippi River Delta is going through local weather and environmental pressures on a number of fronts, together with sea degree rise, land subsidence, deepening of the channel to permit extra vessels and frequent flooding. And not using a everlasting repair, briefly halting saltwater intrusion by creating sills will solely value extra sooner or later, in response to Candy.

The Military Corps declined to speak in confidence to CNN the price of the present undertaking.

“We now have levees on land to guard towards flooding, and we’ve got levees underwater to guard ingesting water – it is a closely fortified space with a whole lot of engineering,” Candy instructed CNN.

“Whereas we perceive it must be executed, is it sustainable? I think that so long as (there may be) the desire and need to proceed to offer flood security and ingesting water availability, we are going to transfer ahead as a rustic to offer this, however it’s going to be more and more difficult as a result of pressures of local weather change and sea degree rise.”

For now, Boyett mentioned the corps is banking on precipitation to ultimately replenish the Mississippi River.

“It truly is gonna rely on rain within the Mississippi Valley. We want the water to come back our means from up north,” he mentioned. “And proper now we’re not seeing something within the forecast, however hopefully that adjustments quickly.”