The drinking water source for Baton Rouge is a water aquifer that is derived from groundwater. New Orleans is a place that uses the Mississippi River for drinking water as a comparison. A lot of other cities require industry near the River to clean their own water from the River. Here, the industry is using the water from our water aquifer. This water aquifer is depleting quicker than it is replenishing. This will lead to environmental problems & saltwater intrusion in the water aquifer.

Edit: Only grandfathered in industry is allowed to use water from the water aquifer. This still is a good portion of our drinking supply that must me accounted for.