Saltwater Intrusion Updates
Updated: October 3, 2023 | 1:20 p.m.
New Orleans & Company is monitoring the saltwater wedge in the Mississippi River and ensuring that our members, customers, visitors and employees have information about the potential impact to our water system.
Just because there could be saltwater in the area, does not mean that our drinking water will be impacted, and if it is, we can replace it with bottled drinking water.
Saltwater intrusion happens in other parts of the country and there are technologies and solutions available.
New Orleans is welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests this fall for festivals, NFL Football games, NBA Basketball games, conventions, meetings, conferences, weddings, reunions, collegiate and high school sporting events, and many other special events.
There is no need to change travel plans. Water in New Orleans is safe to drink.
This situation is not unique to New Orleans. It is the result of a drought that affects water levels into the Mississippi River, the most important commercial waterway in our nation. Our neighbors to the south in Plaquemines Parish and other coastal areas have been managing this situation since June. In those communities, citizens are simply replacing tap water with bottled water and are going about their daily lives. Should rain fall in the Mississippi River Valley and river levels rise, the saltwater will not reach Orleans Parish.
New Orleans & Company is in regular contact with the City of New Orleans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Health, the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, Governor John Bel Edwards and other city and state officials.