Mississippi
Saltwater creeping up Mississippi River may contaminate New Orleans’ drinking water in weeks
More than a million people around New Orleans are now within weeks of saltwater polluting their water supply for the first time in 35 years as officials work around the clock to address the problem.
Drought, subsidence, rising seas and manmade changes to the river have led to historically low water levels in the Mississippi River and allowed saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to creep up the river and into local water sources.
Councilman Mitch Jurisch is among 4,000 people in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, who have already been dealing with high chloride levels in their water for months. The area encompasses the lowest part of the river before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
Councilman Mitch Jurisch discusses the effects of high chloride levels in the water in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
ABC News
“We got the word on June 19 that the chloride level had risen from like 250 to 700-something parts per million overnight. It sparked, you know, panic,” Jurisch told ABC News.
Levels of chloride, which gives drinking water a salty taste, are recommended to stay below 250 parts per million under guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
These guidelines are known as secondary drinking standards regulations and pertain to contaminants — like chloride — that may have cosmetic effects, such as skin or tooth discoloration, or aesthetic effects, such as taste, odor, or color, in drinking water. The EPA recommends these standards to water systems but does not require them to comply with them. On the other hand, regulations for primary contaminants, which have a known health threat, are legally enforceable, according to the EPA.
“People don’t realize just how important of a commodity water is to us. But when you see it shut down schools, businesses, changing people’s lives,” Jurisch said.
Jurisch lives about an hour south of New Orleans, but the saltwater is now moving up the Mississippi River and could reach the city as soon as Oct. 22, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
“Now unfortunately, the last two years we’ve seen those flows be low enough to where the Gulf of Mexico has started to creep into the state,” Casey Tingle, director of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told ABC News.
A graphic shows when salt water from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to creep up the Mississippi River in the following weeks, threatening local water sources, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
ABC News
A spokesperson for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWNBO) said in a statement, “Due to its vast size, New Orleans’ water treatment plant poses the biggest challenge within the region.”
The SWNBO treats up to 165 million gallons of water every day, on average, and serves nearly 400,000 residents and millions of visitors annually to the city’s historic neighborhoods like the French Quarter, the statement said.
The city plans to build a pipeline that would pump in fresh water from about 12 miles upriver, the statement said. The SWNBO is also coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to barge in fresh water from upriver to its smaller intakes for the Westbank of New Orleans.
“In both cases, the fresh water will be added to the river near the intakes to dilute the salty water for treatment and keep chloride levels below 250 parts per million,” the statement said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a sill, an underwater barrier, in July to create an artificial basin to help delay the ingress of saltwater. The upriver intrusion of saltwater overtopped the sill’s elevation earlier this week. They are now working to build the sill higher.
In this undated file photo, the confluence of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet are shown in Louisiana.
STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images
Back in Plaquemines Parish, President Keith Hinkley is hoping to upgrade water treatment facilities in the area with permanent reverse osmosis devices, which he says can cost up to $5 million a piece.
“The goal in the future is this right here, should this happen, it’s the residents in the community won’t even experience it. They won’t feel it. You know, they’ll get some news that, hey, the river’s being intruded by salt again, but we’re on top of it. We’re ahead of it, and we have everything under control,” Hinkley said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards submitted a request to President Joe Biden for a Federal Emergency Declaration last week over the intrusion of saltwater into the Mississippi River.
There are currently three water systems in Louisiana that are under advisories for sodium and chloride — two in Plaquemines Parish and one in St. Mary Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
The EPA does not classify sodium as a primary or secondary contaminant, but the Louisiana Department of Health recommends that people who are on dialysis for kidney disease or low-sodium diets check with their health care providers related to the levels of chloride and sodium in their drinking water.
Water that has exceeded 250 parts per million of chloride should not be consumed by pregnant women and should not be used to mix with baby formula, according to the department.
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Sam Leavitt leads ASU to convincing victory in 1st career start
Leavitt and the Sun Devils cruised past visiting Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night at Mountain America Stadium.
The Arizona State football team elevated its play on the field in its 48-7 win over Wyoming in Week 1.
It is elevating its uniform game for Week 2 against Mississippi State.
ASU football is wearing a gold alternate jersey against the Bulldogs at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Saturday night.
The jersey includes maroon “Arizona State” lettering and maroon numbering, along with a noticeable Big 12 logo.
The Sun Devil football team unveiled the uniform last month, with Athletic Director Graham Rossini posting that “you’ll see this on the field early this season.”
On Thursday, ASU football announced that it would be wearing the uniform against Mississippi State with a video that said “Modern shine, with a classic design.”
On Friday, it posted another look at the uniform.
More: Arizona State vs Mississippi State live score updates, analysis for college football game
ASU vs Mississippi State schedule, TV: How to watch college football game
Promising look: Arizona State football’s 2024 win prediction doubles after Week 1 victory over Wyoming
Social media reacted favorably overall to ASU football’s uniform vs Mississippi State:
Do you like the look for ASU football?
ASU vs. Mississippi State picks: Who wins Week 2 college football game?
Looking promising: Arizona State football makes huge leap in college football ranking, Big 12 power rankings
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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