This video emphasizes the mission of the Mississippi Sound Coalition to restore and protect the ecosystem of the Mississippi Sound estuary and the way of life and economies of coastal communities that depend on it. This way of life will be in serious jeopardy if we do not find ways to avoid or mitigate harm to the Mississippi Sound caused by the Bonnet Carré Spillway and other negative impacts.
To save our Sound we must find win-win alternatives to managing the Mississippi River.
There are win-win ways to balance flood control in Louisiana while protecting our Sound. Congress could change the law to require win-win solutions for all concerned parties.
Meanwhile, the Courts should compel the Corps of Engineers to obey existing laws.
The Coalition is participating in the Corps of Engineers recently announced Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study (“LMRComp”). We are presenting to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers our win-win ideas, science, engineering and economic impact studies to support changes in the law to mitigate Bonnet Carré Spillway’s harm to the Mississippi Sound and to prevent harm from other diversions of Mississippi River water.
State and federal research dollars should focus on science and engineering to find alternatives that avoid or at least minimize opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway.
The Corps of Engineers could open upriver spillways and natural flood plains to minimize and sometimes avoid opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway.
The Mississippi Sound Coalition is comprised of Mississippi Gulf Coast cities, counties, businesses and concerned citizens. We propose to change federal law that governs the Mississippi River to compel the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform three duties: protect life and property from flooding; protect the natural ecosystems affected by river water; and maintain navigation throughout.
Polluted, saltless "fresh" water intrusions from the Bonnet Carré Spillway and other sources put the Mississippi Sound estuary in grave danger of massive loss of marine life. The proposed Mid-Breton Sound Sediment Diversion Project will accelerate the death of the Sound.
In 2019, low-salinity water from the Bonnet Carré Spillway caused our natural oyster reefs to die in 2019. Dolphins and other marine life died in record numbers. Nutrients in the water from 31 upriver states caused an algae bloom that killed our summer tourism season.
Louisiana State University researchers found a hypoxic “dead zone” east of the Mississippi River. A hypoxic dead zone is an area of water with low dissolved oxygen levels that cannot support aquatic life.
Ole Miss research into how manmade contaminations like freshwater from the Bonnet Carré Spillway killed off Gulf oysters in 2019 and why action must be taken to mitigate these events in the future.
This story is the fifth in a five-part series being shared by MSSC with permission called “Farm to Trouble,” a collaborative investigative reporting effort led by AG & Water Desk. The series takes
Keep up to date on legislation, news and events.
SIGN UP
