William Brangham:
And, as the river's freshwater shrinks, saltwater from the Gulf pushes further upstream, threatening the drinking supply used by residents south of New Orleans.
Mayors of towns up and down the Mississippi are asking for federal assistance, as conditions are expected to worsen through the winter.
I recently spoke with one of those mayors, Jim Strickland, mayor of Memphis, Tennessee
Mayor Strickland, thank you so much for being here with us today.
I know you have lived most of your life in Memphis. Can you just give me a sense, have you ever seen the river quite this low before?
Jim Strickland, Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee: No.
I have worked downtown for 35 years, and usually with some kind of view of the Mississippi River. I have never seen it with the soil and the sand and the dirt so prevalent. So often, we see flooding situations. This is the exact opposite. I have just never seen it this low, not only visually, but I hear so many complaints about it from the folks who operate our ports.
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