Much of New Orleans' water might be spared from saltwater wedge, officials say

The saltwater wedge threatening New Orleans drinking water has been delayed by several weeks in its upstream trek on the Mississippi River thanks to better-than-forecast river flows last month, officials in Louisiana said Thursday.

Because of this delay, the large water treatment intakes around New Orleans - including the Carrollton intake, which serves most of the city - might not see saltwater inundation through the end of November, if at all.

The forecast from the US Army Corps of Engineers now expects saltwater to reach New Orleans' smaller Algiers water treatment intake around November 23, and the Gretna intake around November 26. Gretna is the last intake the Army Corps includes in its forecast.

"Currently, through our extended forecast through the month of November, we see the potential for no chloride impacts affecting West Jefferson, Carrollton and Eastern Jefferson water treatment facilities," Col. Cullen Jones, commander of the Corps' New Orleans office, said at a news conference Thursday.

Jones called this a "conservative" forecast that assumes little-to-no rain in October and November.

The saltwater wedge has remained just south of Belle Chasse since September 24, when the Corps began expanding the underwater sill.

"We're making great progress" on the underwater sill, Jones said, noting the expansion is currently 62% complete and that the Corps is aiming to have it done by October 12. "We are ahead of schedule."