Dead Dolphins Shake Up Gulf Coast Leaders

Fofo Gilich is the Mayor of Biloxi.  He has asked all mayors of the Gulf Coast to meet at the Biloxi Visitors Center Tuesday to discuss the impact of the Bonnet Carre spillway on the Coast and specifically the Mississippi Sound.

With the increased flooding of the past few years, Mayor Gilich wants to gain an understanding and consensus on how to address the release of freshwater into Coastal Mississippi waters.

USACE illustration of the Bonnet Carre spillway.

The spillway has been opened twice this year and put a great deal of water into the Mississippi Sound.  The spillway diverts water from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain which then empties into the Mississippi Sound.  The spillway has prevented flooding in New Orleans several times since its construction in 1931, just after the Great Flood of 1927.  With the heavy flooding this year, the amount of water being released has impacted the salt water bay and wildlife.

Several dolphins washed ashore over the weekend.

According to reports, the Institute For Marine Mammal Studies says the opening of the spillway is turning the Mississippi Sound into a freshwater lake, which is changing the entire ecosystem.

The meeting will be held this Thursday at the D’Iberville Towne Green from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Representatives from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Gulf Coast Research Lab will be at the meeting along with other experts.