_________________________________________________________________________________________
LAKE RECOVERING QUICKER THAN EXPECTED//DOLPHINS SIGHTED
10/13/05
Recent sampling data indicates that Lake Pontchartrain’s water quality is improving rapidly. Data from Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) sampling confirms testing by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ ) investigating the possibly of contaminated flood waters from Hurricane Katrina adversely impacting Lake Pontchartrain.
Following the storm, flood waters covered about 120 square miles of metro New Orleans alone. These flood waters picked up sewage, oil and gas, household chemicals, paints, decomposing materials, and other contaminants. To drain New Orleans, it was necessary to discharge the contaminated water into Lake Pontchartrain. Initial testing showed high bacteria levels and low dissolved oxygen along the lake’s south and north shorelines.
Weekly LPBF sampling was reinitiated at 8 historic recreational sites in late September. Results indicate that 75% of the samples are again meeting primary recreation (swimming) criteria. Sampling sites include: Pontchartrain Beach and Old Beach (New Orleans), Bonnabel (Metairie), Laketown (Kenner), Northshore Beach (Slidell), Bayou Castine (Mandeville), Tchefuncte River (Madisonville), and Bogue Falaya Park (Covington). Dissolved oxygen levels also appear to have recovered. Salinities however remain twice as high as normal. LPBF water quality reports are available each Friday on the SAVEOURLAKE.org website. The next sampling results will be available on Friday, October 14.
“We knew Pontchartrain would heal itself” said Carlton Dufrechou, LPBF Executive Director. “The rate of recovery of the lake is a welcomed surprise. 8 dolphins sighted near Mandeville on October 11. If the big critters are back, the lake is definitely coming back.”
The LPBF’s mission is the restoration and preservation of the water quality and habitats of the entire Pontchartrain Basin. Like all in Southeast Louisiana, t he LPBF was impacted by Katrina. Although our office is not useable currently, we continue to operate. Monitoring has been expanded. Technical assistance is being provided to restart wastewater treatment facilities. We are making an inventory of impacts to our coast. We intend to help make metro New Orleans, the Pontchartrain Basin, and SE Louisiana truly sustainable both environmentally and economically. _____________________________________________________________________
Initial Summary of
Hurricane Katrina's Impacts on the Pontchartrain Basin Ecosystem
September 19, 2005
Like all of us in southeast Louisiana, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) and its staff were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Although the LPBF office is not useable currently, we continue to operate.
Monitoring has been expanded. Technical assistance is being provided to restart wastewater treatment facilities throughout the Basin. We are making an inventory of impacts to our coast. We intend to provide Basin updates biweekly. We hope to return to our office by mid October.
Initial impacts of Hurricane Katrina were felt in the Pontchartrain Basin by early afternoon on Sunday, August 28. For the next 24 hours, this huge, Category 4, hurricane ravaged the Pontchartrain Basin and adjoining Gulf Coast. This natural disaster left impacts that will be historic. In the Pontchartrain Basin alone, at least one million citizens have been displaced from their homes and places of work. An additional half million were impacted by damages to property. Winds were clocked at 175 MPH on Lake Pontchartrain’s northeast shore in Slidell. Storm surge in Lake Pontchartrain was 10 to 14 feet. Storm surge about 10 miles east of downtown New Orleans at the junction of the Gulf Intra coastal Waterway
(GIWW) and Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) was 15 to 20 feet. Wind driven waves added 10 or more feet to these storm surges. The photograph below shows storm surge flooding near the junction of the GIWW and the MRGO at Paris Road Bridge during Hurricane Katrina.
Entire communities were destroyed; transportation, water supply, sewerage, and power infrastructure demolished or significantly damaged; even landmasses disappeared. Flooding was of biblical proportions. At one time flood waters covered about120 square miles of metro New Orleans alone.
These flood waters consist of sewage, oil and gas, countless chemicals, and decomposing materials of all types. These highly contaminated waters are being discharged into Lake Pontchartrain. This is a necessity to drain the flood waters from New Orleans. Impacts to Lake Pontchartrain’s near shore water quality and habitats couldbe severe. Post storm satellite imagery suggest that 20 plus square miles of Pontchartrain’s coastal wetlands may have been destroyed by Katrina in a 24 hour period. This is equivalent to the total average wetland loss for the entire Louisiana coast during one year. This event has been catastrophic for the Pontchartrain Basin and its citizens.
Even with Katrina’s impacts, Lake Pontchartrain is much healthier today than it was before Pontchartrain’s restoration began 15 years ago . The volume of contaminated water being discharged into Pontchartrain is tremendous yet the vast majority of the lake’s water remains healthy. In the worse case, the contaminated discharges by volume should displace less than 10% of Lake Pontchartrain’s waters. Water quality should begin to improve as discharges cease. The Lake and the Pontchartrain Basin are living/natural entities.
They will recover. The LPBF intends to do everything in its power to speed that process along. |
