PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The Army Corps of Engineers announced the saltwater wedge has slowed down near Mississippi River mile marker 69, near Jesuit Bend.
According to spokesman Ricky Boyett, the saltwater tow hit a low point in the river. Once it fills that low point, it will keep going.
On Monday, Sept. 25, corps crews were working on building up the underwater sill to its peak height. That process was expected to take 24 days. The saltwater wedge was estimated to hit the Belle Chasse water treatment facility on Oct. 13 before that deadline.
Residents in Ironton said Monday they were preparing for the worst by stocking up on water.
“I got about 20 cases right now,” Wilkie Declouet said. “Get what you can right now because a lot of people are buying everything they can get.”
But Declouet believed his neighbors would be resilient. He said that wasn’t the first time they had to deal without water.
Boyett said he hopes it won’t have a major impact, but only mother nature in the Northern U.S. can help mitigate the effects.
“If we see the weather forecast and they come in, it’s hopefully higher,” Boyett said. “But if it’s lower, we’ll go back in and rerun the modeling and that’ll give us an updated set.”
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