Saltwater is moving up the Mississippi River. Here's what's being done to stop it

A river gauge marks near record low water levels on the Mississippi River at New Orleans. It's many feet lower than it typically would be and it's creating all sorts of problems. (L. Kasimu Harris for NPR)

NEW ORLEANS — Ducks have taken roost on a sandy strip along the Mississippi River – a bank that's typically underwater.

"We have this nice little beach here that Black-bellied whistling ducks are enjoying," says Heath Jones, chief of emergency management at the New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.