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Record-low Mississippi River leads to water issues in Louisiana parish, struggles across the globe [1]
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Date: 2022-11-10
The cost of this ongoing crisis could balloon to $20 billion—certainly a nightmare for large companies and corporations. For frontline communities, the effects of the Mississippi River’s low water levels have led to an emerging water crisis in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish. Saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico is now inundating the parish’s drinking water supply because there is simply not enough water in the Mississippi River to counteract it. A state of emergency was declared in September and officials have been distributing cases of bottled water and bags of ice since Nov. 2nd to impacted residents.
The Louisiana Health Department believes Plaquemines Parish’s drinking water is still safe for healthy individuals but cautions those who require low-sodium diets or are on dialysis to check with a doctor. But salt water levels remain up to 12 times higher than the EPA’s recommendation in drinking water. It’s unclear what long-term solutions are in place. Plaquemines Parish’s past conduct towards its residents certainly don’t help matters. Communities across the parish are still struggling from the effects of Hurricane Ida last year. Ironton, the historically Black town whose residents fought for drinking water decades ago, is one such impacted community.
This is absolutely an environmental justice issue and points to the overall glaring issues of inequality that could push dozens of impoverished nations to the brink of bankruptcy—worsened in part by the circumstances that have led to the shipping crisis on the Mississippi River. The U.S. has the opportunity to treat climate change like the emergency that it is and lead by example. Call on President Biden to declare a climate emergency.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/10/2135088/-Record-low-Mississippi-River-leads-to-water-issues-in-Louisiana-parish-struggles-across-the-globe
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