Looking to the Future

There are seven other diversion projects on the Breaux Act priority project list for Region Two, bringing total to nine. The seven diversions, now in the design and engineering stage, are the West Bay Sediment Diversion (MR-3), Benny's Bay Diversion (MR-13), Delta-Building Diversion at Myrtle Grove (BA-33), Delta-Building Diversion North of Fort St. Philip (BS-10), Myrtle Grove Siphon (BA-24), Bayou Lafourche Siphon (BA-25) and the Small Freshwater Diversion to North-western Barataria (BA-34). The West Bay Sediment Diversion is among the largest of these. Environmental compliance, engineering and design, and real estate planning are completed. Construction could start as early as spring of 2003. This diversion will allow from 20,000 to 50,000 cfs to enter an area of ponds, and should create nearly 10,000 acres of marsh over 20 years. The successful completion of these projects in the coming years should play a significant role in the restoration of Region Two's coastal wetlands.

A major contribution to marsh restoration in Region Two could be made by the Bayou Lafourche Conveyance Channel, proposed in the Coast 2050 Plan. A very large channel that would divert a significant amount of water from the Mississippi River into Regions Two and Three is proposed. This would be an expensive project, but it would create large amounts of marsh.

The need for wetlands restoration has taken on new urgency in light of recent estimates of sea level rise, which show that coastal Louisiana could be inundated by 21 to 44 inches of seawater in the next 50 to 100 years. This depth far exceeds estimates for elsewhere on the Gulf Coast and is due to the extraordinary erosion and natural subsidence experienced by these under-nourished wetlands. However, if enough fresh river water and sediment can be captured and distributed before flowing out to the sea, the natural processes that have sustained the region may be restored. Thus, as always, the future of Region Two will, in large part, be determined by the big river that dominates this land.