Work underway to block salt water from pushing up Mississippi River

Crews have starting work to create barrier to try and slow down salt water from the Gulf that has been surging up river in Southeast Louisiana.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District began construction of an underwater sill across the bed of the Mississippi River channel to arrest further upriver progression of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico," the Corps' Ricky Boyett said in a news release.

The initial plan is to pile 55 feet of material on the river bottom near Myrtle Grove, Louisiana.

"At that height, USACE will monitor progression of the saltwater wedge to determine if additional height is needed to meet the saltwater intrusion mitigation requirements."

Boyett says this is needed because the river is not flowing hard enough to stop the Gulf from pushing into the river.

"The Mississippi River’s volume of water has fallen to a level that allows salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to intrude upstream."

He explained that the denser salt water moves upriver along the bottom of the river, and the construction of a sill has worked in the past to prevent the salt water from threatening drinking water intakes along the river.

"USACE constructed a similar underwater sill in 1988, 1999, 2012, 2022 and 2023 at river mile 64, near Myrtle Grove, La., to arrest the progression of saltwater intrusion."