I grew up in New Orleans, a city bounded by the mighty Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, a brackish tidal estuary that’s home to crabs, shrimp, and many species of fish. Nearly two-thirds of the entire country’s waters flow down the river and in years when snowmelt or heavy rains swell the river above flood stage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers relies on the Bonnet Carré spillway to divert the river’s floodwater into Lake Pontchartrain to relieve pressure on the levees.

中文翻译：

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我们必须为科学发声

我在新奥尔良长大，这座城市以强大的密西西比河和庞恰特雷恩湖为界，庞恰特雷恩湖是一个咸潮的河口，是螃蟹、虾和许多鱼类的家园。全国近三分之二的水域顺流而下，在融雪或大雨使河流超过洪水阶段的年份，美国陆军工程兵团依靠 Bonnet Carré 溢洪道将河流的洪水转移到庞恰特雷恩湖以缓解对堤坝施加压力。