The Mississippi Is Losing Its Fight With the Ocean
A combination of drought and sea-level rise has sent a wedge of salt water moving up the river.
The mouth of the Mississippi River is the arena for a kind of wrestling match. In one corner of the ring is the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico, and in the other, the river’s fresh water. The two shove against each other, and usually, the Mississippi flows with enough force to keep the salt water out. But this year’s drought, currently affecting 40 percent of the continental United States, sapped the Mississippi of water pressure, and a wedge of salt water began muscling its way upstream along the riverbed this summer. It’s already corrupted the drinking water in several towns in southeast Louisiana, and could reach New Orleans around late November. The ocean is winning.
Whatever the climate brings
