PostKatrina Water Quality Assessment: Lake Pontchartrain and Surrounding Water Bodies - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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PostKatrina Water Quality Assessment: Lake Pontchartrain and Surrounding Water Bodies

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Title: PostKatrina Water Quality Assessment: Lake Pontchartrain and Surrounding Water Bodies


1
Post-Katrina Water Quality Assessment Lake
Pontchartrain and Surrounding Water Bodies
  • Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
  • Water Quality Assessment Division
  • September 20, 2005

2
A partnership for water quality assessment
  • Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
  • U.S. Geological Survey
  • Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
  • Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

3
Approach to Lake Pontchartrain Damage Assessment
Historic Ambient Water Sites and 5 Post-Katrina
Sites
4
Parameters being analyzed
  • Conventionals, Field
  • Dissolved Oxygen
  • Temperature
  • pH
  • Salinity
  • Conductivity
  • Oil Sheen (presence or absence)
  • Metals
  • Arsenic
  • Cadmium
  • Chromium
  • Copper
  • Lead
  • Mercury
  • Nickel
  • Zinc

Has Louisiana water quality standards All sites
analyzed for dissolved metals two canal sites
analyzed for total metals
5
Parameters being analyzed
  • Conventionals, Laboratory
  • Fecal Coliform
  • Turbidity
  • Chloride
  • Sulfate
  • Total Suspended Solids
  • Total Solids
  • Total Dissolved Solids
  • Biological Oxygen Demand
  • Alkalinity
  • Nitrate-Nitrite
  • Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen
  • Ammonia Nitrogen
  • Total Phosphorus
  • Hardness
  • Chemical Oxygen Demand
  • Total Organic Carbon
  • Color

Has Louisiana water quality standards
6
Organic parameters being analyzed (66 compounds)
Has Louisiana water quality standards
7
Pesticides analysis by the Louisiana Department
of Agriculture and Forestry
  • Dieldrin
  • Endosulfin
  • Endrin
  • Fipronil (and metabolites)
  • Heptachlor
  • Lindane
  • Malathion
  • Metolachlor (Dual)
  • about 60 other pesticides
  • Alachlor (Lasso)
  • Aldrin
  • Atrazine
  • Bifenthrin
  • Imidacloprid
  • Carbaryl (Sevin)
  • Chlordane
  • Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)
  • Cypermethrin
  • Diazinon
  • Permethrin

Has Louisiana water quality standards
8
Additional sampling capabilities provided by USGS
  • USGS is providing boats and crews specifically
    for bacterial sampling in the entire region
  • USGS also brought in a mobile analytical lab to
    provide quicker access and turnaround of
    bacterial samples

9
Magnitude of LDEQ Laboratory Analyses Water only
as of September 18, 2005
  • Organic compounds 144 samples (7,521 analyses)
  • Conventional parameters 333 samples (1,313
    analyses)
  • Metals 47 samples (104 analyses)
  • Total samples 524 samples (8,938 analyses)

10
What we expected
  • Hurricane damage
  • Increases in organic loading
  • Decreases in dissolved oxygen
  • Fish kills
  • Increases in fecal coliform
  • Impact of floodwater discharges into lake
  • Decreases in dissolved oxygen
  • Fish kills
  • Increases in fecal coliform and other urban
    nonpoint source pollutants (metals, pesticides,
    oil and grease)

11
Volume of floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain is
minimal compared to the volume of the lake
12
Northshore Water Quality Assessment
13
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14
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15
Summation of water quality assessments for
Pontchartrain region Northshore
  • Except Tangipahoa River, Northshore streams
    impacted by low dissolved oxygen
  • Woody debris
  • Resuspended sediments
  • This situation will resolve as the debris decays
    or is removed
  • Reported fish kills in the Northshore area are
    the result of low DO
  • Slightly elevated levels of fecal coliforms were
    detected but are not unusual for the area
  • No detectable concentrations of organic compounds

16
Western Region Water Quality Assessment
17
Summation of water quality assessments for
Pontchartrain region Western Region
  • Incidences of low dissolved oxygen levels may
    occur as tributaries to Lake Maurepas carry
    organic loading (due to decaying vegetation) into
    the lake

18
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Water Quality
Assessment
19
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20
Swimming standard is 400 colonies/100 mL.
Maximum observation was 5 colonies/100 mL.
21
Turbidity standard is 50 NTU. Maximum value
observed was lt11.
22
Summation of water quality assessments for
Pontchartrain region Causeway
  • Dissolved oxygen, fecal coliforms, and turbidity
    meet water quality standards
  • Water quality parameters across the causeway have
    remained at or near values expected for this time
    of year
  • There have been no detectable concentrations of
    organic compounds along the causeway
  • There have been no reports of oil sheen on the
    water

23
½ mile Off Southshore Water Quality Assessment
24
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25
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26
Summation of water quality assessments for Lake
Pontchartrain region Near- Southshore
  • Water quality parameters are at or near expected
    values for this time of year
  • There have been no reports of oil sheen on the
    water

27
Southshore Canal Water Quality Assessment
28
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29
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30
Summation of water quality assessments for Lake
Pontchartrain region Southshore Canals
  • Dissolved oxygen levels have been slightly
    depressed due to high organic loading
  • There have been no reports of oil sheen on the
    water
  • Fecal coliform results have been somewhat elevated

31
Eastern Region Water Quality
USGS has been able to sample this region for
bacteria samples only once due to accessibility
and sample time issues. Water bodies will
continue to be sampled as accessibility improves.
32
Eastern Region Water Quality Assessment
33
Swimming standard is 400 colonies/100 mL.
Maximum observation was 6 colonies/100 mL.
34
Organic Compound Analysis
35
Organic Compound Analysis in the Lake and
tributaries
  • Of the approximately 6,000 analytical results
    (144 samples) for organic compounds in ambient
    water, nearly all have been below detection
    levels
  • When detected, none have exceeded water quality
    standards

36
Biotoxicity test results
  • Toxicity tests were completed on canal water pump
    stations and lake sites
  • Of these only Suburban Canal showed toxicity for
    one test species
  • Other test species showed no toxic effects at
    100 canal pump water
  • Chemical data will be assessed to determine
    possible causes of this toxicity
  • All other sites showed no toxic effects even at
    100 canal pump water
  • Biotoxicity testing will continue

37
Field observations
  • As of September 19, 2005 there were no algae
    blooms observed
  • Numerous bait fish and mullet observed
  • Live crabs found in traps along the Southshore
  • Good visibility in water column

38
Conclusions
  • Northshore Lake Pontchartrain most impact
  • Low dissolved oxygen
  • High bacteria counts (i.e., fecal coliform)
  • Organic and toxic compounds
  • Ambient results mostly non-detect, no exceedences
    of water quality standards
  • Most impacts seen thus far were a result of the
    hurricane and not a result of the pump down of
    floodwaters
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