Mississippi Delta Case Study

Previously, the most controversial issue about the Mississippi Delta was whether it was shaped like a leaf or like a foot of a bird. However, these simple days are no longer; the famous delta faces a great amount of crucial controversy. In the summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina and Rita caused the Mississippi Delta to suffer severely. When the monstrous storm hit, it demolished “nearly 2,000 square miles of deltaic wetlands,” meaning that even the defense against floods was destroyed. When the delta was devoid of protection, this lead to the river no longer being able to replenish the necessary sediments to continue the life of the delta. This unfortunately was not the only tragedy that struck this region within a short span of five years.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010 also caused massive issues for the delta, especially for the wildlife and environment.

The oil company was fined heavily though, and the funds are being used to eradicate the damaged imposed on the environment. However, money itself will not solve this massive issue that is escalating rapidly; “a football field-sized piece of land sinks into the Gulf every hour.” The reality includes that the lifespan of the delta is dwindling quickly. The government stepped in and hired engineers to find a resolution for this devastating issue. A competition was conducted to find the most efficient solution to save the delta. However, there is a lot of controversy dealing with altering the delta, which the argument begins with as to whether the engineers should even act on it or not. This paper will explore the possible implications if engineers decide to “engineer their way out of the

problem.”

What is a delta?
The Mississippi River transports water through over half of the North American continent, and it all flows towards the Mississippi Delta. Therefore, it has a great significance. A delta can be defined as a triangular body of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river where it enters an ocean or lake. The Mississippi delta although is a specific type of delta, a Bird’s Foot Delta, since it resembles the spreading of a bird’s claws. Since this mighty river is devoid of waves, the river has deposited sediment over time and when the accumulation of all the sediment began to pile up, it led to channels being formed. The water now diverts itself around the Bird’s Foot Delta. The amount of sediment deposited is greater than the amount of erosion occurring, which leads to the creation of the delta. The Mississippi Delta empties into the Gulf of Mexico, and like all deltas, is known for its fertility. Called a ‘bird’s foot delta’ for its widely spaced distributaries, this newly formed area is known for its fertileness. Bird's foot deltas are not commonly found along coasts as the ocean currents and waves are stronger than rivers. This Mississippi Delta is also significant as it is an extension of land into the Gulf of Mexico, which is particularly isolated except for Cuba.

Issues & Why?
The past ten years have been calamitous for the Mississippi Delta.

The delta region is currently experiencing more coastal land loss than all other states in the adjoining region combined. Two tragedies that have perturbed all of America have had their greatest impact on the state Louisiana, where this delta calls home. The first devastation was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This hurricane was a category 4 when it hit land, less than a hundred miles away from New Orleans. Overall, the levees failed, the fishing industry was depleted, numerous lives were lost, and infinite lives were negatively impacted. However, the storm destroyed the Mississippi Delta most greatly due to the deterioration of the levees. Since the levees failed and the previously connection between the river and its delta were severed, the delta was left in disarray. Hurricane Katrina also drowned the wetlands that surround the Delta, that also act as a barrier against flooding. The delta was then “sediment-starved” as the disconnection between the river and delta left the delta with a lack of silt and clay to restore itself. By the river and delta not being connected, the wetlands, which rely on the sediment for their sustainability, cannot

regrow.
Cutting the river off from the delta, as macabre as it sounds, is leading to the death of the delta, since the natural land building cannot be done.
Another tragedy that struck and negatively affected the Delta was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Millions of barrels of oil spewed out of this oilrig located in the Gulf of Mexico. This was a national outrage, and once again, Louisiana was immensely harmed. Considering, that the rig was located 42 miles away from the coast of Louisiana, there was a great amount of damage to the marshes and wetlands (the worse area that oil can end up). The oil contains hydrocarbons that will remain ruining the land and water. According to Alford, “the marshes in the Bird’s Foot Delta of the Mississippi River, are some of the most sensitive to crude oil.” It is very clear that the wetlands are in a state of crisis, as advertisements still run featuring how the area and animals are covered in slick oil. The worst thing about this spill is that no one knows how long the impact will last. As this big of an environmental blunder had never occurred before, scientists are unaware of all the long-term affects.

The Current Situation
The Mississippi River Delta is home to 60 percent of all Gulf coastal wetlands, yet, it has lost almost 1900 square miles since the 1930s. This does not seem to be stopping anytime soon either. All the devastation has caused a wide wave of support to come to the delta region. The delta is not hopeless by any means. There are several restoration projects being implemented that are well planned and have a great amount of followers. They also include educating the public (even children) about what is occurring and reaching out for their help. The primary purpose of these organizations focuses on Mississippi Delta and wetland restoration. However, these small organizations cannot provide all the necessary relief. Though they are doing immense good, they are just incapable of helping on that large of a scale. The majority of people blame the BP oil spill for the poor conditions that the delta is facing; people also recognize that the delta was not in its optimal shape before the spill. However, what was known as as the largest oil spill in history lead to what Attorney General Loretta Lynch called “the largest settlement with a single entity in American history.” On October 5th, it was decided that there would be $4.3 billion dollars going towards habitat restoration and conservation in Louisiana alone, out of the $20-billion civil settlement between BP and the government. With this huge sum of money, the government can begin making necessary action towards saving the declining delta.

Government Steps In
The federal government, now equipped with the necessary funds, has gone a very abstract path in order to improve the situation. As mentioned previously, the delta has not been in its prime even before these tragedies struck. The government has the challenge of trying to get the delta back to its original size and functioning that it was around a hundred years ago, after it has lost 1,900 square miles in the last century. The government as the Environmental Defense Fund, sought out engineering teams and challenged them to try to find out the best way to extend the longevity of the delta in what they refer to as the ‘Changing Course Design Competition.’ Numerous types of plans were proposed and can be put into categories: barrier islands and headland restoration, hydrologic restoration, marsh creation, oyster reef restoration, ridge restoration, sediment diversions, and shoreline protection. The winning teams came to the conclusion that the delta just cannot sustain itself at the massive size that it is. They believe that the delta needs to be shrunk down in size, and therefore support the idea of sediment diversion. By sediment diversion, they can build new land by sediment deposit by planting in structures and creating channels. They plan on creating a channel diversion, which forces the sediment to be put in areas that are lacking. This can be viewed as a tool to help the delta, rather than tremendously modify the landscape. Therefore, the engineers are not doing anything ludicrous, but rather what the delta would do on its own naturally, just more compact. The sediment that is failing to reach all the way to end of the bird’s foot would rather just be forced to plant itself further north. This would lead to the lower part of the delta being submerged and disappearing, but it would also lead to a healthier delta overall. The bird’s foot delta will be greatly reshaped and will therefore change the shape of the state of Louisiana. The engineers had to present extensive research in order to be considered by the state; with the settlement funds, the engineers may be able to redesign the delta and make it as ‘good as new.’

Conclusion
The issue is that the delta is rapidly receding. The amount of land loss is happening at such a quick rate that the delta is no longer thriving. The delta is a huge economic resource for the country. It leads to the facilitation of trade and supports millions of jobs. The collapse of the delta could potentially have far-reaching negative consequences on the economy, which would be felt nationwide. It is a very important economic and natural resource in America. The way the delta is set up now is that most of the sediment (that leads to the creation of the delta) is not going to the delta, but rather offshore. The sediment is basically the blood of the wetlands, as it contains the vital nutrients for the various species of plants to survive. It is imperative that the delta be aided immediately, or else it has no other option but to disappear. By the government’s involvement, the state implemented a plan to reconstruct the area that involves paralleling the natural process that the delta has successfully done centuries prior to these massive travesties. The delta is necessary, and I cannot see any ‘cons’ to this argument. Rather, the restoration will significantly improve the economy by creating construction jobs, significantly aiding the declining fish industry, and boosting the accessibility to trade.