Summary: In 2023, extended drought conditions in the Mississippi and Ohio River watersheds brought Mississippi River flow to historic lows. In September, local governments and water systems across Orleans, St. Bernard, and Jefferson Parishes (Counties) received a warning that saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico could reach drinking water intakes within weeks. Due to a lack of reverse osmosis/desalination equipment at treatment facilities, regional contingency plans were developed to protect drinking water for approximately 852,762 residents. Increased sodium and chloride concentrations have documented long-term health impacts and present a health risk, particularly to critical populations including infants/young children, residents with chronic health conditions, residents without automotive transport, and residents with limited income. A State of Emergency declaration was approved by President Biden on September 27, 2023, to provide federal support to the State of Louisiana. Local water distribution plans relied on coordinated logistics efforts between local and regional stockpiles, partner donations, and contracted services. A bottled water distribution plan was modeled on previous COVID-19 mass testing/vaccination plans using high-throughput drive-through and walk-up sites. Home delivery teams and call centers were considered for critical populations unable to independently pick up resources. Engineering alternatives, including upstream freshwater dilution with a temporary pipeline and barging, were pursued by regional and state partners to reduce the likelihood of distribution plan activation. Due to increased river flow and rapid construction of a sill in the Mississippi River by the US Army Corps of Engineers, increased salinity levels ultimately never reached New Orleans. Nevertheless, this regional planning process serves as a model to rapidly expand capacity for commodity distribution in a major urban city that is experiencing major environmental, health, and infrastructure challenges due to climate change.
Sreedhar et al. (Sun,) studied this question.