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"The Saltwater Frontline: Is New Orleans Battling Intrusion?"

The Mississippi River saltwater intrusion occurred because of the extended drought conditions in the Mississippi River and Ohio River watersheds. This brought the river’s flow in South Louisiana to historic lows. The lack of river flow allows saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to push its way up the river into the metro areas. New Orleans and the other regional parishes get the municipal water supply from the river, so when the saltwater reached our water, it threatened our ability to provide drinkable water (https://ready.nola.gov/incident/saltwater-intrusion/about-saltwater-intrusion/). I do not believe that the state of Louisiana grossly mishandled the saltwater intrusion, however I do believe that more could have been done, and continue to be done to mitigate worry for the future of our water system. The state has opted to do reverse osmosis, which did not appear to be available at the scale or within the timeframe to be a viable solution for a water system the size of New Orleans. Household-level reverse osmosis systems are commercially available, and for Orleans Parish the cost is looking at about $120 million, but can be extremely expensive for many homeowners, making this inaccessible for the greater population of New Orleans. They require technical expertise to install and would only treat a single faucet such as the kitchen sink. https://www.nola.com/news/environment/saltwater-intrusion-threat-to-louisiana-is-over----for-now/article_56ec5426-bbc8-11ee-9550-e311b474927b.html#:~:text=to%20be%20quicker.-,Reverse%20osmosis%20equipment%20waiting%20to%20be%20installed%20in%20a%20water,$440%2C000%2C%20said%20spokesperson%20Grace%20Birch. The reverse osmosis solution is only 

a temporary one, and the state of Louisiana, the City of New Orleans, and Orleans Parish need to all work together to create a permanent solution so this is not a recurring danger. I believe that people were hesitant to trust authorities about the intrusion because common sense and experience would make residents feel that the city, and Orleans Parish, would not do the right thing. With the plan for reverse osmosis, it’s only a temporary fix, and the city has no plan in motion to create a permanent one, and it seems that we are at the mercy of the rain in the midwest to ensure that there’s enough rainfall to fill the river. The New Orleans Sewage and Water Board is on record requesting reimbursements for money spent on attempting to fix the issue. While those efforts were unnecessary, they could help with another problem in the future. Focusing on cost vs impact is exactly the reason the residents of New Orleans are hesitant to trust their leaders. The need for solutions is important, and the people of New Orleans need to know that they can count on their leaders to take care of them and their issues, in an efficient and timely manner.