Heavy rainfall related to Hurricane Helene has helped slow the advance of
salt water pushing up the Mississippi River and New Orleans area drinking water is still forecast to remain safe from the threat, the Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday.
The Corps meanwhile completed construction of a sill, or underwater levee, on Thursday to block the salt water's advance. Built near Myrtle Grove downriver of Belle Chasse, the sill rises to around 55 feet below the river's surface, and current 28-day forecasts do not show the wedge of salt water advancing past it.
That outlook means water plants at Belle Chasse and all points farther upriver would not be affected by salt contamination. But whether the forecast holds will depend on how much rain falls farther north in the Mississippi River basin and makes its way to Louisiana to flush out the salt water.