NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The United States Army Corps of Engineers has released its last Saltwater Wedge Timeline forecast.
According to engineers, the saltwater wedge is no longer a threat to any area in Southeast Louisiana since the chloride levels are not expected to rise above 250 parts per million at any water treatment plant along the Mississippi River.
With the recent rain events, USACE officials said the river levels are no longer a concern, and at last check, the wedge has moved downriver toward the Gulf of Mexico to mile 11 as of Jan. 22.
The underwater sill constructed to slow the progression of the underwater sill has started to erode, according to officials. Engineers said they will continue to monitor the sill until it has eroded to the river bottom.
In an effort to reverse the direction of the wedge, USACE barged 153 million gallons of water and deployed four reverse osmosis water purification units to impact water treatment plants during the 2023 low water event.
USACE officials said they will begin evaluations of the augmented sill performance, its emergency support efforts to local governments and regional communication approaches to identify lessons learned during the event.
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