Diverting the Mighty Mississippi — One Answer to a Mighty Big Problem

With billions of dollars in goods, services and infrastructure at stake, engineers are finalizing their proposals to divert the Mississippi River into Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

The proposed diversions, one of which could draw off 70 percent of the river's flow, are the focus of a major effort to put a brake on coastal wetlands loss. "The idea is to put the Mississippi back in the business of sustaining and creating new wetlands," says Tim Axtman, diversions study manager.

If successful, the diversions will build thousands of acres of marsh and play a determining role in neutralizing the loss of wetlands in Louisiana. The diversions would replicate the action of the river prior to the existence of the levee system. By siphoning, pumping or cutting through the levee, diversion projects can move millions of gallons of water from the Mississippi into targeted wetlands. The infusion of fresh water and sediment will offset the sinking of the marsh floor, bring essential nutrients, reduce salinity levels in the wetlands, and allow the return of freshwater vegetation.

While there are other methods that will accomplish these goals, none of them compare with the dramatic results inherent in diverting the Mississippi. "The power of the river is as close as we get to a 'magic bullet' in the field of coastal wetlands restoration," says Axtman. "It's the antithesis of the band-aid approach."

As with any potent medicine, however, there are questions about possible side effects of large scale diversions. For example: Taking large quantities of water from the main channel could adversely affect the shipping industry and jeopardize ports at New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Diversions could cut into the availability of water downstream for drinking and home use.

Diversions could reduce flows downstream, leaving areas like the birdfoot delta at the Mississippi's mouth short on sediment and, as a result, susceptible to land loss. Rebuilding wetlands could raise major questions about who owns the new land and, more importantly, who owns the mineral rights.

Diversions could expose recovering wetlands to all the hazards associated with oil spills from shipping accidents, emissions from the scores of upstream chemical and petrochemical plants, and large-scale fertilizer runoffs from as far away as the upper Midwest. Diversions could cause a disruption of fisheries, affecting recreational and commercial fishing.

On the other hand, the risks of no action, or action that Governor Foster describes as "too little too late," are even greater. According to Axtman, "We've all come to accept the fact that we have a mighty big problem. The next step is to accept that we need an equally big solution."

Proposed Diversion Sites