Is the port of NOLA putting our water supply at risk?

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Is No One Listening???

Egypt has thrived for thousands of years for one reason…the Nile River. Were it not for that waterway flourishing the desert with fresh water the region would be sand. Fresh water is the elixir of life. Without it man cannot survive. Southeast Louisiana suffers from the same dependency.

This Easter Sunday the local city newspaper had an extended article on the United States Corps of Engineers struggling to prevent the salt waters of the Gulf of Mexico from traveling up the Mississippi River and polluting the fresh water intakes of St. Bernard, Orleans, and Jefferson parishes. Should that occur all human activities would be threatened. Salt water contamination would destroy nearly every enterprise that uses fresh water… homes, industry, businesses, hospitals, schools, government buildings, everything! It's the Corps duty to prevent this from happening.

The article goes to great lengths mentioning the contributing factors that generate the salt water infusion. The crevasses that drain water from the river slow it down. The forever dredging to deepen the river for shipping increases the problem. Sea level rise accelerates the process.

Building an underwater levee, a sill, fifty feet below the river's surface was deemed a temporary solution. Although intended to be used maybe once a decade it has now been used each of the past four years. This sill is a critical component for our regional security.

In 2023, the threat of salt water intrusion caused the corps to raise the sill to 30 feet below the surface. This will be done every time the river lacks volume and speed. Likely, this will remain a persistent problem and the consequences of failure are dire.

Which brings us back to the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT). No where in this research study was mention made of the impact of the LIT on saltwater intrusion. If the sill is at 30 feet and these large container ships draw 55 feet… who wins??? Must St. Bernard, Orleans, and Jefferson parishes endure the scourge of salt water? Or, will these massive container ships be refused access to enter the Mississippi River??

Will the entire livelihood of these three parishes be sacrificed so the Port of New Orleans can dock a ship?? Or, will reason finally prevail and the state realize that St. Bernard is NOT the best location for the LIT?

This is not just a St. Bernard issue, although many are disillusioned to believe that it is. This is a regional crisis. Since the LIT demands and its impact on salt water intrusion will impact three parishes, regional leadership must come together to discuss this issue. It is too important to just brush under the rug until a crisis arises.

Perhaps the St. Bernard Parish Council and President should initiate this discussion. Someone has to start the conversation. Leaders from all three parishes must confer. Residents and businesses throughout the region must be informed of the issue and be prepared to face its consequences if nothing is done.

How important is this? Imagine Egypt without the Nile River!

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