CNN —Water levels on the Mississippi River are nearing historic lows for the second consecutive year, triggering a drinking water emergency in Louisiana as ocean water flows upstream, unimpeded by the river’s uncharacteristically weak flow. Lower Mississippi River water levels are forecast to continue to drop through at least mid-to-late October, according to Dedeaux. A confluence of extremesWater levels on the Mississippi River began to plummet in early September, well ahead of the October drop last year. This outlook from the Climate Prediction Center shows how drought is expected to improve in many areas along the Mississippi River which desperately need rain. Sixty percent of the water that flows into the lower Mississippi River comes from the Ohio River, while the other 40 percent comes from the upper Mississippi River, Dedeaux told CNN.

---

Persons: Katie Dedeaux, “ We’re, Dedeaux, It’s, Cullen Jones, Gerald Herbert, Alexis Highman Organizations: CNN, NOAA, Geological Survey, National Weather Service, Army Corps, New, Louisiana, US Drought Monitor, Forecast Center, Center Locations: Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Jackson , Mississippi, Memphis, Missouri, Lower Mississippi, New Orleans, Mississippi , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Nebraska , Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota , Wisconsin , Iowa , Mississippi, El, Midwest