Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project

under planning

The Louisiana Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority is planning to carry out the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion Project. The project entails diverting 50,000 cu ft per second of water and sediment from the Mississippi River into Breton Sound. The diversion channel will be located south of Wills Point on the river’s east bank. Once completed, it will begin depositing sediment and benefitting marshes that have been sediment-starved since levees were built almost 100 years ago. The diversion will build and maintain almost 16,000 acres of new land in the Breton Basin during its first 50 years of operation. The addition of sediment and nutrients from the river will gradually increase soil strength, improving the marshes in the basin. These wetlands also provide an important line of defense against storm surge for local communities and the New Orleans metro region.