They don’t call the Mississippi River mighty for nothing.
America’s main waterway is a wonder of greatness in its story and stature.
And despite the Mississippi being wrangled and directed, its water level raised and lowered by man, cleaved by flood control diversion projects, and its banks straightened and basins widened, the river remains mighty.
And sometimes, still magical, mythical in its power.
One such example is the newly created Neptune Pass, a cutoff channel that connects the flowing river with Breton Sound.
No, not a new diversion project of the Army Corps of Engineers, but a new outflow channel cut by the river itself.
Neptune Pass has caught the attention of the Corps.
And its reaction to the channel is as if the project was performed without the proper paperwork or permits being pulled.
The Corps says they will plug Neptune Pass’ funneling of huge amounts of river water with a rock wall sill across its open mouth.
See, Neptune Pass is doing its job too well.
Too much river water is being diverted, slowing water flow down the main channel and causing issues for navigation.
Still, the rock wall sill will still allow boats to use the pass as its purpose is just to slow the water escaping into Breton Sound.
But the State of Louisiana has concerns about Neptune Pass as well.
Could the pass, and the silt released into the Sound, be beneficial for rebuilding marsh and coastline to the region?
The state says sediment from Neptune is already at work building new land in Quarantine Bay.
It’s also filling in other low spots like the Bay Denasse
The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate reports a survey found the Neptune Pass to be moving 118,000 cubic feet of water and sediment a second.
Neptune Pass, which in 2016 was just 150 feet wide, is now more than 800 feet wide, due to high water flows and hurricane activity.
Army Corp of Engineers spokesperson Ricky Boyett told the paper 16% of the rivers flow is moving through Neptune Pass—causing a slowing in the rivers speed and sediment drop out, resulting in a threat to ocean going vessels.
"This shoaling means that we are starting to see impacts to the deep draft navigation channel and will need to close the crevasse," Boyett said.
Those in favor of allowing Neptune to retain some of its outflow and sediment migration.
"We are encouraging the Corps to address this as an opportunity (for coastal restoration through the creation of new land with sediment flowing through the channel), and not just a potential problem for the navigation channel," Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Executive Director Bren Haase commented.
"This, again, highlights the need to move toward a more holistic management of the river, where we are considering maintaining the longevity and resiliency of the navigation channel, but also considering flow control as an ecosystem restoration tool, an opportunity, and not necessarily a problem," Hasse says.