Army Corps of Engineers

In this aerial photo, dredging operations to build an underwater sill are seen in Plaquemines Parish, La., Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. A salt water wedge slowly moving upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, due to the unusually low water level in the river, may threaten municipal water supplies, potentially even New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Saltwater wedge moving slower than projected; unlikely to reach New Orleans until late November

Halle Parker

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest projections, released Thursday, the “saltwater wedge” isn’t forecast to reach New Orleans’ west bank until late November — a month later than earlier projections suggested.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Cullen Jones, who commands the New Orleans District, provides an update on his office's measures to address a "saltwater wedge" moving up a historically low Mississippi River during a news conference on Sept. 15, 2023.

Coastal Desk

Salt water threatens South Louisiana drinking water second year in a row amid severe drought

Halle Parker

As the Mississippi River drops to one of its lowest levels in recent history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said salt water from the Gulf of Mexico could threaten drinking water as far north as New Orleans’ French Quarter if no action is taken.

On the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, across the river from the small town of Buras, a new cut in the river bank has opened and is growing rapidly, stirring concerns from all levels of government.

Coastal Desk

Corps launches major lower Mississippi River study

Mark Schleifstein, Times-Picayune/The Advocate

A long-delayed $25 million, five-year study of how to manage the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico was officially launched by the Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday.

A newly-formed cut in the east bank of Plaquemines Parish known as Neptune Pass has begun diverted huge amounts of Mississippi River water. Recent research suggests it's also a rare site of new land-building on Louisiana's coast.

Coastal Desk

New Mississippi River channel is actually building land on disappearing coast, research says

Halle Parker

A contentious channel formed off the Mississippi River has begun to build new land off Plaquemines Parish’s east bank, according to research published Tuesday.

A boat filled with news media, state officials and coastal advocates chug down the Blind River in Maurepas Swamp during a tour on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

Coastal Desk

This Louisiana swamp is dying, but a new, unprecedented partnership can help restore it

Halle Parker

New trees are few and far between, and the ones there are struggling to stay alive. If the trend continues, Louisiana could lose one of its largest freshwater swamps and a major buffer between Baton Rouge and hurricanes.

Coastal Desk

New Mississippi River cut should be closed, Corps analysis says, despite state opposition

Halle Parker

Despite vocal opposition from the state and coastal advocates, an environmental analysis compiled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seemed to support the closure of a newly-formed channel diverting part of the Mississippi River through Plaquemines Parish’s east bank.

On the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, across the river from the small town of Buras, a new cut known as Neptune Pass, a new cut in the river bank has opened and is growing rapidly, stirring concerns from all levels of government and disagreement over its future.

Coastal Desk

Louisiana, coastal advocates push the Corps to keep a new cut in the Mississippi River open

Halle Parker

Louisiana’s coastal authority and advocates continue to fight the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the future of a new cut along the Mississippi River on Plaquemines Parish’s east bank. The final decision on whether the channel will remain open looms, with the potential to come down in the next few months, and, as it stands, the odds aren’t in their favor.

A pipe spews sediment dredged from the Gulf of Mexico onto Trinity-East Island off the coast of Terrebonne Parish in the spring of 2021, as part of one of Louisiana's largest barrier island restoration projects to date.

Coastal Desk

Everything is more expensive — including restoring Louisiana’s coast, officials say

Halle Parker

Market volatility has raised prices in the grocery store, at gas pumps — and on Louisiana’s ongoing effort to rebuild its lower third.

A drone captures an aerial view of a predominantly Black neighborhood in Wallace, Louisiana and the neighboring farmland slated for industrial development by an agricultural company.

Coastal Desk

After 'insufficient' report, Corps to take closer look at grain terminal’s impact on historic sites

Halle Parker

A report conducted by a company looking to construct a grain terminal in St. John the Baptist Parish is facing increased scrutiny by federal agencies and will need to be redone to assess how the $479 million project would affect nearby historic sites.

Coastal Desk

Navigation or restoration? New Mississippi River cut renews questions over management

Halle Parker

For some, the channel — referred to as Neptune Pass by federal and state officials — presents an opportunity for research and coastal restoration as Louisiana’s protective wetlands continue to slip away. But as more water branches off from the river’s main stem, a slower Mississippi River could pose navigational challenges for the oceangoing vessels that traverse the ship channel.