The US Army Corps of Engineers is planning to barge 36 million gallons of freshwater daily into the lower Mississippi River near New Orleans as saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico continues to threaten drinking water supply, officials said Friday.

The move comes as water levels are plummeting for the second consecutive year after this summer’s blistering heat and low rainfall triggered extreme drought over parts of the central US.

Typically, enough rainfall upstream helps ease drought conditions and keeps the saltwater at bay. However, during the news conference Friday, the governor said officials “don’t believe that there is sufficient precipitation in the near term anywhere along the Mississippi River to materially change the conditions for the better.”

    • chaogomu@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      We’re not quite there yet, but we will be in a few more years.

      It will likely kick off with China against Russia. See, China is also in the midst of a massive years long drought, and just on the other side of Mongolia is the largest freshwater lake on the planet.

      China actually had a bottling plant being built on the shores of the lake until Russia said no.

      Hell, Eastern Russia has a lot of resources that China really needs. So while the two countries are currently allies, the alliance is an uneasy one.

      • Maeve@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        And they thought MAD was a good* strategy to keep us from extincting ourselves. Smh.

        Edited word