The Mississippi River south of New Orleans is extremely low and projected to drop lower by the end of July, posing a second year in a row of threats to local public water supplies from saltwater moving north from the Gulf of Mexico, our media partners at The Advocate report.
With the leading toe of a wedge of saltwater estimated to already have crept north to mile 44.2 above Head of Passes, or near Port Sulphur, the Army Corps of Engineers has kicked off planning efforts to block it from reaching the water intakes for the public water supplies in Belle Chasse and Chalmette, the newspaper reports.
Saltwater already has reached the intakes of Plaquemines Parish's Boothville water plant, driving up the amount of sodium and chloride, the two minerals that make up salt, in water going to homes and businesses in the southern part of the parish's west bank, The Advocate reports.
The contamination prompted the parish to issue an advisory on June 21 to residents between the Empire Bridge to Venice who may be on dialysis or low-sodium diets and subject to sodium and chloride restrictions, the newspaper reports.
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