You don’t have to be from Louisiana to have heard about the land-loss problem that plagues the state. Before I even moved here I had heard the same “New Orleans will be underwater” by different people. The allocation of land and the preservation of the coast is a top priority of the state government. This has been a problem that government officials have been aware of for decades (link). The land loss crisis has been further exacerbated by large-scale devastating events, such as hurricanes and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also known as the BP oil spill. After the oil spill, the heads of the state announced a plan to divert water and sediment from the Mississippi River to a coastal wetland in the southern part of the state, called the Barataria Basin.

This project has been publicly supported by both state and federal agencies and politicians. These include, but are not limited to the Louisiana Coastal Protection Authority, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Congressman Garret Graves. A quick google search of the mid-Barataria Diversion project pops up with several results that praise the project as the largest restoration project in the history of, not only the state of Louisiana, but in the entire country. There is such widespread support of the project that to be anti-diversion is considered to be anti-Louisiana. However, like with everything, there are two sides. Before we delve into the controversy, let's take a look at some fundamental information.

The Who, what, when, where, why

The Who The Mid-Barataria Diversion Project is being spearheaded and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. It has been supported by major Federal and State agencies, including NOAA, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the U.S Dept. of Interior. However, many environmental interest groups, such as Earth Island Institute and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies objected to the project, citing grave detriments to the region, the existing ecosystem, and to the present human settlements.

The What The mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project is a project to divert fresh water and sediment from the Mississippi River through a constructed canal. It is considered the largest and most expensive restoration project in United States history. It is estimated to cost around $3 Billion and estimated to deposit around 20 square miles over 50 years.

The When The Project has been recorded as far back as 1984, when the U.S. Army Corp. conducted a feasibility study in the Basin, to see if a diversion project was possible. The diversion project was included in the first draft of the Coastal Master Plan in 2007. After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, $3B out of the estimated $5B payout to Louisiana was allocated to the diversion project, as the spill had exacerbated the already-occurring land loss issue.

The Where The project broke ground in Plaquemines Parish on Mississippi River mile 60.7, between Ironton and Alliance, Louisiana. The residential community in the area relies on harvesting the aquatic life in the region for the local economy.

The Why The coastline of the Barataria Basin has eroded an estimated 430 miles since the 1930s. In 50 years, if no action is taken ,it is estimated to lose nearly as much again. The intent of the Diversion Project is to deposit sediment from the Mississippi River into the basin to attempt to rebuild and “restore” the marshland.

Now that we have established the core details, we can take a look at where the problem arises. There is an already existing ecosystem in the Mid-Barataria basin. That ecosystem is a “shallow estuary”, meaning that many species of animals depend on these habitats. Dolphins, sea turtles, and bald eagles depend on the Barataria Basin to lay and hatch their eggs and, in the case of the dolphins, have their calves. The salinity of the water is an important factor in this, as the Basin has brackish water and is a saline marsh. The Mississippi river is a freshwater body of water. By introducing fresh water to the Basin, aquatic creatures that rely on a certain salinity level to live would not be able to survive after continued exposure.

Oxygen levels are also a considerable factor. Anyone who has taken a science class knows that water is made up of H2O. Oxygen in water is a fundamental building block of the environment. Hypoxia is a term that recognizes low-levels of oxygen in water, and is a term that has been used to describe the water in the Mississippi river. Hypoxia can cause water to become corrosive and unable to sustain life.

Like with any major scientific concept, it is always best to look at what experts have to say, and from what can be found, there are a lot of moving parts here: Dr. Moby Solangi, the head of the Marine Mammal Institute in Gulfport, MS, has a strong interest in protecting and he made several points regarding the effects of the project on local wildlife. He has spent decades of his life researching and aiming to protect the wildlife present along the gulf states. Dr. Solangi explained that devastating effects on the local wildlife are inevitable, should the Mid-Barataria Project continue. He attested that the most endangered Sea Turtle in the world, Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, comes to the Gulf Coast to lay its eggs. If the low-saline, hypoxic, and polluted water be introduced to their habitat, the population may not recover. Due to his area of research, he had a robust and informed perspective on the effects on the dolphin population. He emphasizes that an estimated 50% of the population would be expected to die within the first year. Much like the proverbial boiling frog, the dolphins will not just leave if their ecosystem changes to an unsupportive habitat. Dolphins are territorial creatures and maintain, what Dr. Solangi called, “site fidelity”. This means they’re very picky when considering where they want to live. Once they do pick a habitat, that becomes their home. By the time the dolphins realize that they’re being poisoned by an unsupportive habitat, they’re already dying of exposure to low-saline, hypoxic, and polluted water.

When it comes to the practicality of the diversion project, Dr. Solangi also had perspective to share. The main reason the diversion project is happening is to restore the land being lost along the Louisiana coastline. The models being used to promote the diversion project are based on old historic connections between the river and the Basin that have not existed in a long time. However, Dr. Solangi pointed out that the river itself is not the same as it once was, with its amount of sediment decreasing by 90% in the last 200 years due to industrialization.The project likely won’t even be depositing the amount of sediment it intends to.

The project has been in-progress for several decades. The diversion project was able to move forward after the waiver of the Marine Mammal Protection Act was granted to the state.The project broke ground in August of 2023 but is currently halted due to a lawsuit filed by Plaquemines Parish. While the project is stalled, and now is the time to propose alternative solutions.When discussing the situation with Mr. Blessey and Dennis Lambert of the Water Resources Commission, the men stated that State legislators could change the situation, but the public has to get involved. They agreed that, “Even judges read newspapers”. Lt. Billy Nungesser, a vocal advocate for alternatives for the project has proposed several ideas, most notably a forested ridge along the coastline to protect against storm surges, and to prevent land loss of the current marsh land. For more information, please visit https://dirtywater.louisianaseafood.com/.