Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Sparks

A ‘Wedge’ of Saltwater Is Making Its Way Up the Mississippi

New Orleans’ drinking water is under threat.

New Orleans.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

For much of its history, the Mississippi River has been a churning mass of water, the collected output of a watershed that stretches across 32 American states and two Canadian provinces. Its power is unquestionable; when the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico, the sheer force of the river keeps the saltwater of the Gulf from making its way upstream.

Except for right now. Drought in the central U.S. has made the Mississippi drop to near-record lows, and the Gulf of Mexico is encroaching upwards. A “wedge” of saltwater at the bottom of the river has been making its way upstream, threatening to inundate drinking water plants in and around New Orleans (CNN has a good graphic that shows what the wedge looks like). This is a big problem: As Colbi Edmonds reports in The New York Times, water treatment plants aren’t designed to handle water with high salinity levels, which can corrode pipes.

Governor Jon Bel Edwards of Louisiana has requested a federal emergency declaration, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans has already signed a city-level emergency declaration. The Army Corps of Engineers, meanwhile, is hard at work trying to raise an underwater sill it had built in the river back in July to protect against the saltwater; officials say they want to make the sill 25 feet higher, though even that will only serve to buy about 10 or 15 days rather than stop the saltwater altogether. The only thing that can really stop the saltwater is rain, and none is forecasted for the near future.

This isn’t the first time saltwater has made its way upriver (it also happened in 1988), but this is the second year in a row where drought has made the river’s water levels drop so dramatically. In 1988, the saltwater intrusion was solved with an unexpected burst of water on the river; this time around, officials think the problem could last until January. And if the drought continues into next year, it’s likely they’ll be facing the same problem then.

In the meantime, the Corps is also organizing barges to transport drinking water to New Orleans and the other communities that stand to be affected. In a press conference on Friday, Governor Edwards urged people not to stock up on drinking water; a representative of the Army Corps told CNN that it “fully anticipates the capability to meet the need of up to 36 million gallons per day that could be required.”

Yellow

You’re out of free articles.

Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Sparks

Why Your Car Insurance Bill Is Making Renewables More Expensive

Core inflation is up, meaning that interest rates are unlikely to go down anytime soon.

Wind turbines being built.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Fed on Wednesday issued a report showing substantial increases in the price of eggs, used cars, and auto insurance — data that could spell bad news for the renewables economy.

Though some of those factors had already been widely reported on, the overall rise in prices exceeded analysts’ expectations. With overall inflation still elevated — reaching an annual rate of 3%, while “core” inflation, stripping out food and energy, rose to 3.3%, after an unexpectedly sharp 0.4% jump in January alone — any prospect of substantial interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve has dwindled even further.

Keep reading...Show less
Sparks

A Key Federal Agency Stopped Approving New Renewables Projects

The Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees U.S. wetlands, halted processing on 168 pending wind and solar actions, a spokesperson confirmed to Heatmap.

A solar panel installer.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

UPDATE: On February 6, the Army Corp of Engineers announced in a one-sentence statement that it lifted its permitting hold on renewable energy projects. It did not say why it lifted the hold, nor did it explain why the holds were enacted in the first place. It’s unclear whether the hold has been actually lifted, as I heard from at least one developer who was told otherwise from the agency shortly after we received the statement.

The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that it has paused all permitting for well over 100 actions related to renewable energy projects across the country — information that raises more questions than it answers about how government permitting offices are behaving right now.

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow
Sparks

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Are Officially Off

The leaders of both countries reached deals with the U.S. in exchange for a 30-day reprieve on border taxes.

Claudia Sheinbaum and Justin Trudeau.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a month-long pause on across-the-board 25% tariff on Mexican goods imported into the United States that were to take effect on Tuesday.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Sheinbaum had agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, “specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick will lead talks in the coming month over what comes next.

Keep reading...Show less
Green