April is a pretty full month, so I may not be able to make this meeting. But I will point out a few things for others who may attend.
The weirs are necessary and prudent to protect the marsh behind them from saltwater intrusion. The saltier the water is in the main lake, the faster salinity rises in the marsh and the more time the weirs need to spend in a closed position.
If the main lake had lower salinity, the weirs can spend more time open without threatening the marsh. This would allow greater flow of bait and sport fish back and forth between the marsh and lake.
After considering various approaches to reducing salinity in the main lake, the approach that makes the most sense is increasing the isolation between the main lake and ship channel. The ship channel is the salt water highway between the Gulf and main lake. Decreasing the area of connection between the ship channel and main lake will reduce the average salinity in the lake.
This will not only have the benefit of allowing the weirs to be open more days per year, it will also reduce salinity closer to the optimal range for the oyster beds in the southern lake to come back. Since hurricane Rita, the salinity in the lower lake has really been too high for oysters to thrive. High salinity makes oysters more susceptible to parasites (oyster drills) and fungal infections.
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