At yesterday’s monthly board meeting of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), sediment diversions lead Brad Barth announced that the agency will expand the study for the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion from 35,000 to 75,000 cubic feet per second (cfs).
Scientists and engineers hired to analyze the project have concluded that expanding the study will capture more sediment and fresh water from the Mississippi River, thereby maximizing land-building more cost effectively.
The Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion, which will be located on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, is currently in the engineering and design phase. The project will convey fresh water and sediment into nearby deteriorating marshes to sustain and build land over time.
According to the Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition of national and local conservation organizations including Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, this decision by CPRA to increase the scale of study of the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion will better position the state to ultimately build more coastal wetlands that will buffer local communities from storm surge and rising seas.