ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. (WGNO) — With the saltwater intrusion heading upriver, St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says the parish plans to use $15 million of its Hurricane Ida recovery funding to get the ball rolling.
“To barge in water, to connect to the city, and to bring in these reverse osmosis units is going to cost money. Now we have that secured through November. We are hard at work knowing we have the funds,” says McInnis.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimates saltwater will begin affecting St. Bernard on October 19.
In the meantime, McInnis says they’re testing the water every day and are thankful for the help they’re getting from other parishes.
“We’re going to have an elevated amount from what they are telling us an elevated amount of water that will be safe to drink up to that 250 million pump per million. We are all working together to try to solve this issue and barging water. The Corps of Engineers is going to be doing that to stay ahead of the salt wedge,” says McInnis.
“The wife and I have stocked up on both bottled water and gallon,” says resident John Taylor.
Taylor is happy with the parish’s approach to the situation. However, he is not sure how long this will last, and believes people should start conserving water.
“Don’t just waste water. If you know you have a water leak or something, get it fixed. Don’t just let it run out there. Now is the time to conserve water because it could be critical,” says Taylor.
Yet the parish president wants people to know in a time of need water will be available.
“It’s okay to buy a couple extra cases of water but the water is going to be there when you need it. We believe water is going to be there on a private and a public basis if we have to hand it out to our citizens,” says McInnis.
McInnis says the army corps is still working to gather barges that would deliver fresh water to downriver treatment plants.
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