Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2019LA118B

Soil and groundwater salinity measurements in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA), economic impacts, and adaptive measures to address salinity concerns

Institute: Louisiana
Year Established: 2019 Start Date: 2019-03-01 End Date: 2020-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $8,700 Total Non-Federal Funds: $17,802

Principal Investigators: Changyoon Jeong

Project Summary: Soil salinity is a serious concern in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA) that lies below the major agricultural production parishes in Louisiana. According to the reports obtained from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the USGS Expanded Chloride Monitoring Network, the aquifer shows an increase in salinity level, but the results are not definitely upward trending based on the observation available from 1995-1997 to 2011-2012. More information is needed to understand the trend in salinity in the region. To that end, we propose to collect samples from 300 groundwater wells and soil irrigated by these wells in the region and then analyze those samples for their salinity content. This information will then be mapped using GIS and overlaid with crop production information based on the data available from the LSU Agricultural Center. We will then predict a future rise in salinity based on the data collected from this study and historically available groundwater quality data. The information will then be used to tailor location specific adaptation recommendations to overcome the salinity related economic loss in the future