GRETNA, La. —
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng held a press conference to provide an update on the saltwater intrusion.
Sheng and other parish officials joined together to address mitigation measures ahead of the saltwater intrusion. The conference is being held at the Emergency Operations Center in Gretna.
Officials say they spent over a week creating a plan that they call a “flexible water line system” where they will use what is known in the industry as "lay flat" pipes to draw in fresh water from the Mississippi River.
"Our system is gonna be in what works for us," said Sheng.
Sheng announced the parish's plan was approved by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness during a meeting earlier on Friday.
Depending on the amount of water brought in at the different intakes, there will be different solutions available to residents.
Smaller intakes have options get water from other parishes, however many of those options are not available in Jefferson Parish said Sheng.
There are three intakes Gretna, East Jefferson and West Jefferson.
Gretna uses four million gallons of water a day and is the only municipality that has their own water system.
East Jefferson and West Jefferson will be two separate projects officials say. East Jefferson uses 30 million gallons a day while West Jefferson intakes 40 million.
Director of Public Works, Mark Drewes says they created the "most practical plan", to use a flexible piping system with high velocity diesel pumps to get enough flow through the pipes.
The system will extend about 15 miles up river from the West bank plant to a location near a natural sill in the river.
The intrusion is set to impact Gretna and the West bank first in the parish. Officials are set to begin working on the project.
Officials say residents should visit Saltwater Intrusion Dashboard for more updates.
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