Quote:
Originally Posted by rainy_day
ship channel was dug 1926.
we did't need weirs for 50 years.
now it's only thing that will save the marsh
we still loose coastline every year
leave the marshes alone. mother nature willbdo a better job man
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This isn't an overnight process, it does take time. Remember there were cypress trees in the lake. It takes time to kill a cypress, but anyway I can drive down 27 to the coast and just look out there and see open mudflats and salt tolerant vegetation, its not a good thing, the weirs were put there to mitigate for the ship channel which allows saltwater to intrude into the system.
If nature was allowed to run its course and the ship channel would never be dredged again (bye bye Lake Charles industry), the ship channel would eventually silt in and the straight channels would eventually start to meander like natural streams do - there are NOT straight streams or rivers in nature, and it would take care of itself eventually but long after our generation comes and goes. Take into effect sea level rise (cough cough) and its not looking good, saltwater intrusion is probably the biggest threat to Louisiana, besides the current Preside..
And some parts of Louisiana are actually building coastline, the Atchafalaya Delta is productive marsh and grows every year. Just this past year Venice actually gained land from all the flooding and the diversions were opened to allow freshwater and sediment to flow. In our lifetimes we ain't gonna see the levees of the MS River come down, this is what is ultimately needed. One more Katrina event and maybe New Orleans people will realize there was a reason smart people don't build below sea level