As a deepwater tidal pass, the Rigolets helps supply salt water from the Gulf to Lake Pontchartrain.

[3] Tidal scouring has produced a deep pit in the lake at the western mouth of the strait.

[4] Since the Rigolets is a channel through which Gulf storm surges can approach the New Orleans area, there have been proposals to construct floodgates to try to protect the city, especially since the destructiveness of hurricanes in the early 21st century.

The western terminus of the U.S. Route 90 Rigolets Bridge is located immediately north of Fort Pike.

[8] Hurricane damage there from Katrina included shifted spans and the loss of timber decking.