Link to site: Great uncertainties remain about the health risks from contamination left by Hurricane Katrina

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Highlights:
- Exposure to contaminated sediments and widespread mold in water-logged homes as well as people breathing unhealthy air that includes fine, contaminated dust.
- Samples of floodwater and sediment in New Orleans have shown high levels of bacteria, fecal contamination as well as arsenic and lead
- "The EPA ... will not lift the evacuation order and tell people it's safe to go back,"
- growing concern about contaminated dust getting into the air from dried sediment, or mold-contaminated structures
H. JOSEF HEBERT, The Associated Press, September 29, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials acknowledged great uncertainties remain about the health risks from contamination left by Hurricane Katrina but said Thursday the decision on whether people should return to New Orleans is a local one.

As water is drained from the city, among the new worries cited at a congressional hearing are exposure to contaminated sediments and widespread mold in water-logged homes as well as people breathing unhealthy air that includes fine, contaminated dust.

Ed Mendel, of Palm Beach, Fla., surveys a wrecked neighborhood in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005. Mendel, a volunteer firefighter, brought his homemade deep water rescue vehicle to the city Wednesday after helping with rescue operations in Cameron, La., in the wake of Hurricane Rita. One month after Hurricane Katrina hit, the Ninth Ward remains partially flooded after a levy broke following both Katrina and Rita. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Charlie Riedel - AP)

"This a very complex environmental situation -- sediment, mold, debris removal," Dr. Henry Falk, director for environmental health and injury prevention at the Centers for Disease Control, told a House hearing on Katrina's environmental impacts.

While 80 percent of the drinking water systems in the region affected by Katrina were again operating, water systems that once served 2.3 million people, many in New Orleans, remain shut down, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Samples of floodwater and sediment in New Orleans have shown high levels of bacteria, fecal contamination as well as arsenic and lead and the EPA acknowledges those samples are "snapshots" that do not give a total picture and may miss contamination hotspots.

Falk and Deputy EPA Administrator Marcus Peacock told the House hearing that environmental conditions vary in different parts of the city and decisions to allow people back should be made on a neighborhood basis.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., wondered why the EPA should not make the decision on whether it's safe for people to return to New Orleans.

"The EPA ... will not lift the evacuation order and tell people it's safe to go back," replied Peacock, adding that is the responsibility of local officials.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is pushing aggressively to reopen the city and have people return.

Visiting the stricken Gulf region on Thursday, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson declined to take a position on Nagin's approach, but noted the city's bacteria-laden floodwaters, lack of drinking water and sewage system as areas of continued concern.

Falk, testifying before the House Energy and Commerce environment subcommittee, said there could be long-term chronic health problems for some people as a result of returning to New Orleans.

"The potential for any long lasting effects depends on the degree of exposure. ... How long people are exposed" to contaminated sediments, bacteria-laden floodwater or other health hazards, said Falk.

As floodwater recede, there is growing concern about contaminated dust getting into the air from dried sediment, or mold-contaminated structures, environmentalists said.

Peacock said that EPA's ground-based air monitoring is only beginning, although an extensive sampling program is planned "to assess potential inhalation risks from particulates."

Environmentalists and citizen advocates said the EPA is understating the health risks in New Orleans and that federal and local officials are not providing people with information they need to decide whether to return.

Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, said the EPA monitors showed unhealthy levels of benzene and other toxic chemicals in the air in some areas of the city.

"Returning citizens and many responders do not understand the risks," Olson told the subcommittee.

"If you read the (EPA) web site (showing sampling results) you practically have to have a degree in chemistry to understand it," he said, adding that most people seeking to return to New Orleans don't have computers to even get that information.

Peacock said the EPA and Coast Guard responded to more than 400 reported oil or chemical spills, including five major spills in the New Orleans area, releasing more than 8 million gallons. Environmentalists contend those numbers understate the situation and do not include oil that has leaked from some 350,000 motor vehicles and toxic chemicals from industrial sources.

In a bit of good news, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday that tests on fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico two weeks after Hurricane Katrina showed no increases in contamination by oil.

Additional tests for exposure to bacteria, pesticides and other toxic chemicals have not been completed. Testing of shrimp samples from Mississippi Sound also are still underway.

Link to site: Scientists and research centers from across the country came together to generate information on the contaminated floodwaters and offer it to hazardous materials experts and public health officials.

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Highlights:
- developing forecasts that will predict the circulation of those foul waters
- three-dimensional computer program that can be used to model water levels and flow.


CHAPEL HILL -- In the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina, scientists and research centers from across the country came together to generate information on the contaminated floodwaters and offer it to hazardous materials experts and public health officials.

In a matter of hours, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Marine Sciences Program and Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), together with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), played a key role in that effort by providing rapid-response computing and modeling capability.

Floodwaters containing organic and chemical pollutants such as sewage and oil still cover swaths of Mississippi and Louisiana. To aid cleanup, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coast Survey Development Laboratory (CSDL), along with UNC faculty, have been developing forecasts that will predict the circulation of those foul waters.

A group of researchers, including Drs. Richard Luettich and Brian Blanton, marine scientists in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, has developed a three-dimensional computer program that can be used to model water levels and flow. This program, "ADCIRC," is what experts call a hydrodynamic code. Previously, the code was used largely for after-the-fact analyses of coastal circulation, but researchers now believe it can help produce answers during a crisis.

Blanton and Luettich, assistant research professor and professor of marine sciences, respectively, knew that to simulate the required 60 days of water velocity and water surface elevation they would need more computational power then they had at the university. They asked UNC’s Dr. Daniel A. Reed for help -- based on their NOAA--funded collaboration with RENCI -- to establish a computational system with Web access for rapid-response forecasting to severe weather.

Reed is Chancellor’s Eminent professor and vice chancellor for information technology at UNC. North Carolina’s 2005-06 budget includes $5.9 million in new funding for RENCI, a collaboration of UNC, Duke and NC State that is based on the Chapel Hill campus and run by Reed. RENCI is slated to receive $11.8 million in recurring funding thereafter.

"If we had a month to do these runs, we could do them on our desktop computers or on a small cluster, but to do it literally overnight requires some horsepower," Blanton said.

Reed, former director of NCSA, connected Blanton and Leuttich with NCSA, the National Science Foundation-supported supercomputing center located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Using NCSA’s Xeon system, a state-of-the-art parallel computer called Tungsten, the researchers were able to complete the required computational runs in about 15 hours, from midnight on Sept. 11 to mid-afternoon on Sept. 12.

"This is a prelude to the capabilities RENCI and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will provide to North Carolina, as we deploy our own large-scale computing infrastructure and continue to build disaster-response collaborations with North Carolina experts," Reed said. "With state support, we are now building world-class capability for interdisciplinary research, technology transfer, economic development and engagement across North Carolina."

Researchers at CSDL, with assistance from Luettich and Blanton, are working to integrate information provided by the computational calculations with NOAA’s North American Mesoscale Model, the primary weather forecasting model used by the National Weather Service, to simulate wind speed, direction and other weather factors. Their goal is to provide daily forecasts of coastal circulation and pollutant concentrations in the Katrina-affected region, information that will be vital as cleanup efforts and recovery continue.

The two also have extended their work with RENCI, Reed and colleagues to analyze various aspects of last weekend’s Hurricane Rita and its effects in Texas and Louisiana.

"We are trying to be prepared and generate reliable information that the hazardous materials experts will need to have," said CSDL scientist Jesse Feynen. "We're doing that, and we're doing it quickly."

Link to site: The bill that would allow laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, hazardous-waste laws and others to he to be "waived or downplayed,"

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Highlights:
- Vitter-Inhofe proposed bill "would add to the public health and environmental risks facing our communities
- The groups called the proposal "unwarranted and dangerous."
- Includes threats from contaminated drinking water supplies, polluted flood waters, broken sewage treatment systems, oil and chemical exposures, toxic sediments and sludge, and the safety of recovery personnel as well as returning residents and business owners.

MIKE DUNNE, Advocate staff writer
Several Gulf Coast environmental groups and a union are asking Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana to withdraw proposed legislation that would allow the suspension and waiving of environmental laws in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Vitter and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., are sponsoring the bill that would allow laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, hazardous-waste laws and others to he to be "waived or downplayed," the groups said in a letter to Vitter and other members of the U.S. Senate.

A request for comment from Vitter through his press office in Washington didn't result in a response. In the letter to Vitter and others, the groups said: "Indeed, in the wake of the hurricane, we believe these laws are most desperately needed to protect communities from these unprecedented hazards," the groups said in the letter.

The groups said the Vitter-Inhofe proposed bill "would add to the public health and environmental risks facing our communities by giving the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the authority to waive or change any law under the EPA's jurisdiction or that applies to any project or activity carried out by the agency for up to 18 months."

The groups called the proposal "unwarranted and dangerous." Monitoring data and the initial assessments prepared by the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention portray "a complex array of environmental health" problems in New Orleans.

"This array includes threats from contaminated drinking water supplies, polluted flood waters, broken sewage treatment systems, oil and chemical exposures, toxic sediments and sludge, and the safety of recovery personnel as well as returning residents and business owners. People from other Gulf Coast communities are also facing some or all of these hazards."

They point out that the EPA admits the extent of the public health and environmental risks is not well known, especially in the storm-damaged areas of New Orleans.

Groups signing the letter were:

Alabama Environmental Council, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Alabama Watch, Alliance for Affordable Energy, Tulane Law School Environmental Law Clinic, Friends of Moss Rock Preserve, Gulf Restoration Network, Louisiana ACORN, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Mobile Baywatch/Mobile Baykeeper, Service Employees International Union Local 100, Sierra Club-Alabama Chapter, Sierra Club-Delta Chapter, Sierra Club-Mississippi Chapter, The Urban Conservancy, and WildLaw.

Link to site: Revealed that, while the pant site was inundated with water and railcars pushed off the tracks and on their sides by Hurricane Katrina, no hazardous material releases or leaks were observed

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Highlights:
- Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) inspections at the DuPont Delisle no hazardous material releases or leaks were observed.
- MDEQ has also confirmed that all chlorine railcars have been accounted for and placed upright.

September 28, 2005
HARRISON COUNTY — Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) inspections at the DuPont Delisle plant in Harrison County have revealed that, while the plant site was inundated with water and railcars pushed off the tracks and on their sides by Hurricane Katrina, no hazardous material releases or leaks were observed. The onsite landfill for waste disposal remained intact and was not overcome by the storm surge, the MDEQ said.

"We were pleased to learn the DuPont's landfill, which is a series of impoundment constructed with levees and berms, worked as it was designed and did prevent the inflow of water," said Phil Bass, director of MDEQ's Office Pollution Control.

The MDEQ has also confirmed that all chlorine railcars have been accounted for and placed upright. Before these railcars leave the site, each will be inspected for damage and repaired as needed.

Recovery efforts are underway at DuPont Delisle. Company officials said they expect to resume operations in November

Link to site: EPA is carrying out extensive sampling of standing flood waters in the City of New Orleans.

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Highlights:
- Flood water test results
- Preliminary test results advisory
- Drinking water and food
- For water and wastewater facilities


EPA is carrying out extensive sampling of standing flood waters in the City of New Orleans. The Agency follows a quality assurance process that ensures that the data is thoroughly reviewed and validated. This process is being used for all data received as part of the emergency response. EPA is ensuring coordination of data between federal, state, and local agencies and will routinely release data as soon as it is available.
Flood water test results
Preliminary test results advisory

Drinking water and food
Boil water - To kill major water-borne diseases, bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Boil 3 minutes at elevations above 5280 ft (1 mile or 1.6 km).
What to do about water from household wells after a flood . Do not turn on the pump - danger of electric shock. Do not drink or wash with water from the flooded well. More info. General info about household wells.
Dehydration (extreme thirst) can be life-threatening in older adults. Make sure older adults have enough good drinking water and are drinking it. Older adults risk dehydration because they may feel thirsty less, because of medications, or due to physical conditions that make it difficult to drink. More information about dehydration risks in older adults.
EPA and HHS Urge Caution in Areas Exposed to Contaminated Flood Water - guidelines for those in contact with flood water. Flood water test results...

For water and wastewater facilities
Suggested post-hurricane activities - to help facilities recover from severe weather conditions.
National Emergency Resource Registry (https://www.swern.gov/) - Register if you have resources to help water utilities recover from Katrina.

Link to site: Optimistic that New Orleans has avoided its two biggest environmental threats

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Highlights:
- brackish lake along the city's northern edge - and flood sediment in the city contain dangerous levels of bacteria
- water and sludge contained toxic chemicals, they weren't at levels that would make people sick with short exposure
- Oil products are the most prevalent contaminant in the water and sludge
- Sampling now is shifting to assessing the long-term health threats in the city
- Untreated floodwater is pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, the lake has taken on a distinct septic smell

DAVID SNEED, Knight Ridder Newspapers

BATON ROUGE, La. — State environmental health officials are cautiously optimistic that New Orleans has avoided its two biggest environmental threats: sludge that's so contaminated the city is uninhabitable, and Lake Pontchartrain turned into a toxic soup.

But as the first steps of repopulating the city resumed Monday, tests showing whether there could be long-term health risks haven't been completed yet.

Preliminary testing shows that Pontchartrain - the huge brackish lake along the city's northern edge - and flood sediment in the city contain dangerous levels of bacteria. But these should diminish quickly as the city dries out and pumping into the lake stops.

Officials stress, however, that the testing so far has concentrated on dangers that would make people sick immediately. They haven't done the testing that would show the health risks of long-term exposure.

"The numbers don't show any smoking guns, but I am concerned about people setting up shop in there before that question is answered," said John Pardue, the director of the Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, an independent public safety group.

Pardue said that although the water and sludge contained toxic chemicals, they weren't at levels that would make people sick with short exposure.

However, Hurricane Rita reflooded areas of the city and added a new layer of sludge, said Ivor van Heerden, the director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes at Louisiana State University.

The most immediate threat is bacteria. E. coli and other harmful bacteria exceed health standards by a factor of 10.

Katrina flooded 25 major and 32 minor sewage-treatment facilities, releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the city. Decaying animal and human remains also are contributing bacteria.

As a result, health and rescue workers being sent into the city must be vaccinated for tetanus and other serious infectious diseases, said Darin Mann, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality. They wear rubber gloves and boots that have puncture-proof soles to prevent nails and other objects from penetrating.

Health officials recommend that everyone in the city wear a respirator mask. As the city dries out, dust will be a problem. Breathing dust under any circumstances is unhealthy, but the dust in New Orleans may contain contaminants, they said.

Oil products are the most prevalent contaminant in the water and sludge, coming from refineries along with submerged cars and gas stations.

Testing also has found slightly elevated levels of lead, arsenic and other metals, as well as pesticides and herbicides. These come from flood runoff as well as household and industrial sources.

Sampling now is shifting to assessing the long-term health threats in the city - problems that may arise as a result of repeated exposure to low levels of contaminants, said Dana Shepherd, the Katrina data-assessment team leader with the state Department of Environmental Health.

Cleanup efforts will have to reach the lowest layers of sediment and debris before long-term health threats can be determined, a process that will take weeks.

As untreated floodwater is pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, the lake has taken on a distinct septic smell, Mann said. Like the floodwater and sludge in New Orleans, the lake has lots of bacteria but doesn't have high levels of toxic chemicals.

"It's a bacterial, or septic, soup, but it's not a toxic soup," Mann said.

At 630 square miles, Pontchartrain is the nation's second-largest saltwater lake, behind the Great Salt Lake. Experts estimate that floodwater from New Orleans will displace no more than 10 percent of the lake's volume, meaning pollution from pumping will be limited.

Most of the damage to the lake was caused by natural sources. Katrina washed tons of leaves, branches and other natural debris into the lake and the streams that feed it. This debris is rotting, sucking oxygen out of the water and killing fish.

"I expect a total fish kill in streams up to 15 miles above the lake due to low dissolved oxygen," said Mark Lawson, inland fisheries biologist for 13 parishes in eastern Louisiana. Limited fish kills in the lake also have been reported.

Link to site: Free bacteriological testing (for total coliforms and E. coli) for citizens who have private drinking water wells and systems.

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Highlights:
- temporarily expanding its testing to include homeowners with a private well system to ensure they have access to safe drinking water.
- The water should not be used for drinking, bathing or other purposes until sample results are shown to be negative for potentially harmful bacteria.

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Rural Water Association, is offering free bacteriological testing (for total coliforms and E. coli) for citizens who have private drinking water wells and systems.
DHH is responsible for regularly testing public drinking water systems; however, following Hurricane Katrina, the department is temporarily expanding its testing to include homeowners with a private well system to ensure they have access to safe drinking water.
If a homeowner's water well was flooded during Hurricane Katrina, the well must first be disinfected with a chlorine bleach solution then thoroughly flushed. Directions for disinfecting wells may be obtained at the drop-off points listed below. Then, the homeowner may collect a sample of water for analysis by a laboratory. Unless the well water is boiled or

Chemically disinfected as needed, the water should not be used for drinking, bathing or other purposes until sample results are shown to be negative for potentially harmful bacteria.

To have their well systems tested, homeowners can pick up sampling supplies and receive instructions on disinfecting the water, flushing the well system and collecting the test sample, from a sanitarian at the parish health unit. Once the sample has been collected, it must be kept refrigerated or on ice and delivered to the parish health unit within 20 hours of collection.

The Health Unit will accept samples between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on designated collection days. Contact your local Parish Health Unit to learn the designated collection days for your Parish. Well water testing began Monday. Drop off points are: St. Tammany Parish Health Unit, 21454 Koop Dr., Suite 2-C, Mandeville, 985-893-6296 and the Washington Parish Health Unit, 1104 Bene St., Franklinton, 985-839-5646.

Link to site: Overall Hurricane Response

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Highlights:
- Sediment Sampling
- Debris Assessment and Collection
- Superfund Sites
- Drinking Water Assessment
- Wastewater

Sediment Sampling - On 9/22, EPA posted analytical results of sediment sampling from New Orleans. On 9/16 based on the initial results of this data, EPA recommended avoiding all contact with the sediment, where possible, due to the presence of E. coli and fuel oils. In the event contact occurs, EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly advise the use of soap and water, if available, to clean the exposed areas, and removal of contaminated clothing.

EPA-CDC Report - EPA and CDC formed a joint task force to advise local and state officials of the potential health and environmental risks associated with returning to the City of New Orleans. The initial Environmental Health Needs & Habitability Assessment issued 9/17 identifies a number of barriers to be overcome and critical decisions to be made prior to re-inhabiting New Orleans. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/katrina/reports/envneeds_hab_assessment.html

Debris Assessment and Collection - All field activities have been on stand down due to Hurricane Rita. Activity will resume in the Tammany Parish. EPA is conducting air monitoring at debris burn sites in Louisiana. EPA teams continue collection of household hazardous wastes (HHW) and orphan containers in the hurricane affected area. In addition, EPA personnel continue to offer technical assistance in the disposal of hazardous waste and other debris left behind by the storm. As of 9/22, EPA has collected over 37,550 HHW/orphan containers throughout the affected region. Four collection sites have been put into place for collection of these wastes in MS and AL and one collection site has been located in St. Tammany Parish, LA. The draft Debris Removal Plan is in final review. The plan will enable Federal agencies and the State of Louisiana to comprehensively manage funding for large scale and complex debris.

Superfund Sites - There are 16 NPL sites in the hurricane Katrinea affected area of LA, 6 in AL and 3 in MS. 16 of the sites in LA have had initial assessments. Initial Rapid Assessments have been made on the 9 sites in AL and MS. EPA is still in the assessment phase, and will continue to monitor all the impacted NPL sites. Teams are ready to go to sample all affected NPL sites (both Katrina and Rita). EPA plans to sample the Agriculture Street Landfilll site on Sunday, weather conditions permitting.

Rapid Needs Assessment-Katrina - EPA and LDEQ are coordinating to develop schedules on how to look at NPL sites, including the Malone Services and Jasper Creosote sites. The schedule is to be completed by end of day Sunday, 9/25.

Drinking Water Assessment - In the LA affected area, there are a total of 683 drinking water facilities that served approximately 2.8 million people. As of 9/22, EPA has determined that 534 of these facilities are operational, 19 are operating on a boil water notice and 130 are either inoperable or their status is unknown. In the MS affected area, there are a total of 1,368 drinking water facilities that served approximately 3.2 million people. EPA has determined that 1,228 of these facilities are operational, 100 are operating on a boil water notice and 40 are either inoperable or their status is unknown. In the AL affected area, there are a total of 72 drinking water facilities that served approximately 960,682 people. EPA has determined that all 72 of these facilities are operational. It should be noted that operational facilities may still be in need of repair or reconstruction. EPA’s Water program is preparing to assess all drinking water plants after Hurricane Rita passes through.

Wastewater - In the LA affected area, there are a total of 122 Public Owned Treatment Works (POTW). As of 9/22, EPA has determined that 87 of these facilities are operational and 35 facilities are either not operating or their status is unknown. In the MS affected area, there are a total of 118 POTW. EPA has determined that 114 of these facilities are operational and 4 facilities are either not operating or their status is unknown. In the AL affected area, only 1 facility is not operating with 7 others having operational difficulties. It should be noted that operational facilities may still be in need of repair or reconstruction. EPA issued an emergency Administrative Order to the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans to temporarily allow discharges from the East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Mississippi as a result of Katrina. This effort was coordinated with LDEQ. EPA has developed a set of questions and answers that will assist in responding to inquiries. Discussions among agencies represented at the Joint Field Office are ongoing to determine when to stop pumping water out of New Orleans into Lake Pontchatrain. EPA personnel are reviewing historic water quality and current conditions obtained from environmental sampling. EPA’s Water program is preparing to assess all wastewater treatment plans.

Link to site: it would appear that government agencies are now taking seriously the threats posed by environmental hazards left in Hurricane Katrina’s wake

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Highlights:
- from the dated and incomplete data available, it would appear that there is no Gulf Coast “environmental disaster” at all.
- Risks to human health posed by hazardous chemicals likely to be present in flood-ravaged areas are also conspicuously excluded from publicly available information.
- right thing for our agencies to do now is to level with the American people
- by focusing on damage control and silencing legitimate concerns, agencies only endanger American lives and further tarnish their own credibility.
From their recent statements, it would appear that government agencies are now taking seriously the threats posed by environmental hazards left in Hurricane Katrina’s wake.  The tone of official statements has changed markedly in the past week. From the head of FEMA’s relief effort to EPA and OSHA officials, the new order of the day is caution and concern. But in light of the glaring absence of both timely and accurate information about risks and a coherent plan to address hazards from these agencies, it seems their statements reflect the need for damage control and responsibility dodging. It is troubling that, in the midst of one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation’s history, such considerations would take precedent over public health and safety on the agendas of the very agencies charged with protecting American workers and families.

Indeed, from the dated and incomplete data available, it would appear that there is no Gulf Coast “environmental disaster” at all. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released test results for toxic chemicals in flood water for less than 30 sites, all in downtown New Orleans, far from “hot spots” in outlying areas.  Even these limited results were weeks old, despite ever-increasing numbers of clean-up crews and residents pouring into the surrounding region.  EPA’s “Response to Katrina” webpage indicates only a few hazardous chemicals having been found in qualities over their acceptable limit, none of which present a substantial risk to the public. 

Risks to human health posed by hazardous chemicals likely to be present in flood-ravaged areas are also conspicuously excluded from publicly available information.  EPA’s website provides no information that would help someone identify symptoms of potentially life-threatening or debilitating exposures to hazardous chemicals, as they do for bacterial contaminant exposure.  And recent EPA press release acknowledged the presence of 'fuel oils' in soil deposits left behind by flood waters, but the agency has still not released detailed data about the chemicals found. Many 'fuel oils' and other petroleum byproducts are known carcinogens—some can even breach protective gear—yet the release fails to warn of these potential cancer risks.

In the stew of contradictory and confusing information floating around about post-Katrina toxic hazards, legitimate concerns that acknowledge the magnitude of potential problems are going unnoted and unaddressed.  But these concerns should be taken seriously.  Massive amounts of toxic chemicals were present in the area before the storm.  Thousands of sites in the storm’s path used or stored hazardous chemicals, from the local dry cleaner and auto repair shop all the way to Superfund sites and oil refineries in Chalmette and Meraux, La., with huge stores of ultra-hazardous hydrofluoric acid.

And some of those sites were damaged and leaked.  From the day Katrina passed over the Gulf Coast, reports from residents and media in the area told of oil spills, obvious leaks from plants, storage tankers turned on end, and massive fires.  National organizations and folks on the ground, picking up the slack left by government agency reporting, have helped shed light on the “toxic gumbo” left in the Katrina aftermath and the inadequacy of relying on industry to take care of that mess.

What’s going on with leaks, spills and releases should be everyone’s concern.  No one knows the cumulative effects of and health risks presented by the mixing of chemicals that the EPA, state and local agencies, and environmental and community groups need to work together to protect residents and clean-up crews.  Yet the EPA appears to be following the same dysfunctional pattern it did after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the agency—caving to White House pressure—withheld warnings about the health risks of asbestos and other airborne chemicals at Ground Zero.

What you don’t know can hurt you.  We saw this with rescue workers at Ground Zero, many of whom continue to experience health consequences from their unwitting exposure.  And we’re seeing it again now with Katrina rescue workers, like Steve Dombrowski, who showed up last week to a clinic in Mississippi with chemical burns on his legs from wading in flood water, according to The New York Times.  

The right thing for our agencies to do now is to level with the American people, so that, before returning to their homes or sending their children back to school, area residents will have the information they need to make the best possible choices.  By expanding chemical testing, being more timely and forthcoming with test results, and engaging stakeholders, the EPA and other government agencies might actually carry out their charge of protecting the public.  But, by focusing on damage control and silencing legitimate concerns, agencies only endanger American lives and further tarnish their own credibility.  In recent weeks, we’ve seen how essential access to information is to our ability to deal with crisis; this is a lesson our agencies should take to heart. 

Link to site: The costs to repair and replace public drinking water infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Katrina will surpass $2.25 billion

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Highlights:
- estimates costs to repair or replace assets such as treatment plants, storage pumping, and related control facilities impacted by storm surge, flooding and other factors
- does not include the costs of critical recovery activities such as pipe flushing and disinfection, interim operating needs such as power generation, and cleaning up contaminated source waters.
- $1.6 billion will be required for 47 water systems serving more than 10,000 persons, with an additional $650 million required in 885 smaller, primarily groundwater systems

Kylah Hedding of the American Water Works Association, 303-347-6140 or 303-956-8030 (cell) or khedding@awwa.org 9/22/2005

DENVER, Sept. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The costs to repair and replace public drinking water infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Katrina will surpass $2.25 billion, according to a preliminary assessment from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) released today.

AWWA is providing the report to members of Congress and the White House to help decision-makers plan for the costs of getting water systems damaged by Katrina back into operation as soon as possible.

The AWWA report estimates costs to repair or replace assets such as treatment plants, storage pumping, and related control facilities impacted by storm surge, flooding and other factors. It also analyzes the impact of revenue shortfalls due to the inability to service debt, particularly in communities where customers have relocated and the system is inoperable.

However, it does not include the costs of critical recovery activities such as pipe flushing and disinfection, interim operating needs such as power generation, and cleaning up contaminated source waters.

“While the preliminary cost estimate for replacing and repairing water infrastructure is significant, we expect the full cost of restoring water systems to pre-Hurricane Katrina status could be much higher,” said Jack Hoffbuhr, AWWA executive director. “Nevertheless, this estimate will help Congress begin to gauge the long-term costs of restoring safe drinking water service, which is critical for any community.”

The report estimates that $1.6 billion will be required for 47 water systems serving more than 10,000 persons, with an additional $650 million required in 885 smaller, primarily groundwater systems. The systems are all in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

A copy of the report can be found on AWWA’s Web site, http://www.awwa.org.

Link to site: EPA Biological and Chemicl testing

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Highlights:
- Biological testing: total coliforms and E. coli
- Chemical testing
- Additional information

Biological testing: total coliforms and E. coli
EPA, in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, is collecting and analyzing biological pathogen data. Flood water sampling data for biological pathogens from Sept. 3 on are being posted as they become available. To date, E. coli levels remain greatly elevated and are much higher than EPA’s recommended levels for contact. Based on sampling results, emergency responders and the public should avoid direct contact with standing water when possible. In the event contact occurs, EPA and CDC strongly advise the use of soap and water to clean exposed areas if available. Flood water should not be swallowed and all mouth contact should be minimized and avoided where possible. People should immediately report any symptoms to health professionals. The most likely symptoms of ingestion of flood water contaminated with bacteria are stomach-ache, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Also, people can become ill if they have an open cut, wound, or abrasion that comes into contact with water contaminated with certain organisms. One may experience fever, redness, and swelling at the site of an open wound, and should see a doctor right away if possible.
More information about fecal coliform and E. coli
Test results
Biological testing Sep. 3-10, 2005

Chemical testing
EPA in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality performed chemical sampling of New Orleans flood waters for over one hundred priority pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), total metals, pesticides, herbicides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Flood water sampling data for chemicals are being posted from September 3, 2005 on as they become available. The data has been reviewed and validated through a quality assurance process to ensure scientific accuracy.

Test results
Flood water results for September 14, 2005 indicate that hexavalent chromium was found in twelve samples and that arsenic was found in one sample slightly above the drinking water action level. However ATSDR/CDC conclude that exposures at these levels during response activities are not expected to cause adverse health effects. Phenol and cresols were also detected. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water, as long as there is no inadvertent ingestion (e.g.,from splashing).

Flood water results for September 13, 2005 indicate that hexavalent chromium was found in twelve samples and one sample contained cadium and lead at levels above the drinking water action levels, however ATSDR/CDC conclude that exposures at these levels during response activities are not expected to cause adverse health effects. Arsenic was found in four samples at levels that slightly exceeded the drinking water action level. Trace levels of organic acids, phenol, cresols, and metals associated with salt water were also detected. EPA and CDC do not feel there is ingestion exposure to flood water, as long as there is no inadvertent ingestion (e.g., from splashing).

Floodwater results for September 12, 2005 indicate that hexavalent chromium is present, however according to ATSDR/CDC's calculations the exposures at these levels in flood waters during response activities would not be expected to cause adverse health effects. Selenium and lead were detected at levels greater than the drinking water MCLs. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water, as long as there is no inadvertent ingestion (e.g., from splashing).

Floodwater results for September 11, 2005 indicate that hexavalent chromium is present but not at levels that would pose a risk to human pose a public health concern. Total chromium was also detected but at levels below the drinking water MCL. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water and therefore do not believe there is a public health concern associated with these chemicals.

Floodwater results for September 10, 2005 indicate that one sample contained lead at a concentration above the drinking water action level. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water and therefore do not believe there is a public health concern associated with lead. Hexavalent chromium was detected in five samples, but not at levels that would pose a risk to human health as flood water is not being ingested as drinking water. Trace levels of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyaceticacid (an herbicide) were detected in some samples but are not of public health concern.

Floodwater results for September 9, 2005 indicate that one sample contained lead at a concentration above the drinking water action level. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water and therefore do not believe there is a public health concern associated with lead. Hexavalent chromium was detected in nine samples but not at levels that would pose a public health concern as flood water is not being ingested as drinking water.

Floodwater results for September 8, 2005 indicate that fourteen samples contained lead above the drinking water action level. Hexavalent chromium and total chromium were detected in most of the samples. One sample contained benzidine. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water and therefore do not believe there is a public health concern associated with these chemicals in the flood water.

Floodwater results for September 7, 2005 indicate that three samples contained lead above the drinking water action level, twelve samples contained arsenic at levels above the drinking water MCL, and one sample contained benzene, likely associated with petroleum products, above the drinking water MCL. EPA and CDC do not feel that there is ingestion exposure to flood water and therefore do not believe there is a public health concern associated with these chemicals. Hexavalent chromium and total chromium were detected in most of the samples but not at levels that would pose a public health concern as flood water is not being ingested as drinking water. Trace amounts of cresols were also detected, but not at unsafe levels.

Floodwater results for September 6, 2005: Arsenic and lead were detected at levels which exceed EPA drinking water standards. These compounds would pose a risk to children only if a child were to drink a liter of flood water a day. Long-term exposure (a year or longer) to arsenic would be required before health effects would be a concern. Hexavalent chromium was detected, but not at levels exceeding EPA drinking water standards. Thallium was detected at one sampling location and while levels are slightly elevated, they are 10 times lower than levels at which there would be a health effect.

Floodwater results for September 5, 2005: Results from the chemical analyses of the data collected did not reveal any contaminants that exceeded EPA drinking water standards. Minerals commonly found in sea water along with trace levels of organic acids, phenols, and sulfur chemicals were detected.

Floodwater results for September 4, 2005: Lead was detected at levels which exceed EPA drinking water standards. Lead would pose a risk to children only if a child were to drink a liter of flood water a day.

Floodwater results for September 3, 2005: Lead was detected at levels which exceed EPA drinking water standards. Lead would pose a risk to children only if a child were to drink a liter of flood water a day.

Additional information

Additional information regarding health and safety issues for both the public and emergency responders can be found on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web site and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Web site.

 

Link to site: Geography of southeastern Louisiana is unlike any place else on Earth

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Highlights:
- solid ground on a map is actually marshland, floating like a pancake on a plateful of syrup.
- Levees built to protect the city may have actually focused that storm surge
- "You can rebuild Louisiana's marshes over the next 50 years -- it's just a matter of making the decision and doing it.

Morning Edition, September 23, 2005 · The geography of southeastern Louisiana is unlike any place else on Earth. Much of what looks like solid ground on a map is actually marshland, floating like a pancake on a plateful of syrup.
Scientists are now piecing together how Hurricane Katrina affected those marshes, which form a buffer against storms and flooding. What they find will help determine how the region is rebuilt. For the latest NPR/National Geographic Radio Expedition report, Christopher Joyce journeys to "liquid Louisiana" to survey the damage.
Scientists believe Hurricane Katrina created a giant storm surge that gathered in the Gulf of Mexico and barreled westward up the wide swampy delta on its way to New Orleans. It may have reached 20 feet high by the time it hit the city's eastern suburbs.
Levees built to protect the city may have actually focused that storm surge: Instead of spreading a sheet of water out across the delta, the levees created a channel for the surge. Also, the natural marsh buffer zones that soften the blow of a storm surge have been largely replaced or hemmed in by ship channels and development. All those channels and levees cut off river sediment that enable the marsh to take root and thrive.
What happened to the city is now well known. But damage to the marsh is harder to evaluate. From the air, there's obvious evidence of Katrina's wrath. Wind and waves have cut channels through once-uniform mats of grasses.
At the Chandeleur Islands, a crescent of land about 60 miles east of New Orleans, the full force of Katrina is more evident. Nothing's left but patches of marshland, or "island marshes." It will take years for the islands to recover -- but what did survive is held together by island marshes, a "green glue" that will anchor new growth.
In the marshes to the south of the city, the marshes have held up well. The storm wasn't a fatal blow, but scientists say that unless erosion is held in check, the marshes will continue to recede and leave New Orleans even more exposed to the elements.
But can the city remain a vital shipping destination, with all the deep-water channels required, and still divert enough Mississippi River sediment to the marsh to keep it alive?
"It's just a question of engineering and money," says the U.S. Park Service's David Muth, whose own home was flooded by five feet of water when the city's levees gave way. "The cheap way is the way we're doing it now -- so ask yourself the question, was that the smartest thing we could have done?
"You can rebuild Louisiana's marshes over the next 50 years -- it's just a matter of making the decision and doing it. And if this doesn't spur us to do it, we'll never do it."

Link to site: where should the toxic mess be deposited?

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Highlights:
- wrong choices now could spark environmental problems for decades to come.
- Scientists from LSU have already begun field trips to New Orleans to collect samples for monitoring the level of toxins in the water.
- That represents about 2% of the volume of the lake.

Patrick Jackson, BBC News, The filthy floodwaters that have engulfed much of New Orleans are posing a fresh challenge for the city - where should the toxic mess be deposited?

Fears are growing that the wrong choices now could spark environmental problems for decades to come. Engineers need to pump out the water which swept in when Hurricane Katrina's storm surges from the lake brought down sections of its floodwalls on 29 August. But the last thing the lake and the delicate wetlands of Louisiana and Mississippi need is a tide of urban filth.

The areas have already suffered decades of seeping pollution and erosion. The Mississippi River might seem a more obvious channel than the lake for the mess, carrying it out to sea. Yet the lake is the city's traditional drain, and it is impractical to try to pump all the water out to the south. Sewage and unknown amounts of industrial chemicals float in the stagnant water - along with the unrecovered bodies of the victims. Oil, diesel and petrol from vehicles are adding to the mix.

And the facilities to treat the contamination before pumping the water away are just not there in a city without power. Scientists cannot yet say for sure how poisonous the water actually is, and city officials have described reports of a "toxic soup" as exaggerated.

On the Mississippi coast, the water went in and went out - in New Orleans, it went in and sat there
Professor John Day, Louisiana State University. New Orleans has no large industrial base, says John Day, a professor at Louisiana State University's (LUS'S) Department of Oceanology and Coastal Studies - but for now scientists "just don't know" what a full analysis of the waters will show.

If no major new source of toxins emerges, the biggest areas of concern will organic waste and oil slicks. While they may have a short-term impact, these elements should largely break down in the lake water in a matter of months, says Professor Day.

Field trips
Scientists from LSU have already begun field trips to New Orleans to collect samples for monitoring the level of toxins in the water.

Aerial photographs are also helping them to establish the volume of floodwater. These images suggest the quantity of floodwater in downtown New Orleans on 2 September was 95 billion litres (21bn gallons, 25bn US gallons), Hassan Mashriqui of the LSU Hurricane Center told the BBC News website. That represents about 2% of the volume of the lake.
LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN
1,632 sq km (630 sq miles) - second-largest US saltwater lake
Home to 125 aquatic species including anchovies and sharks
Named in 1699 after a French minister
Covering 1,632 sq km (630 sq miles), Pontchartrain is home to more than 125 species of aquatic life, from anchovies to alligators. Wildlife in the wetlands of the lake's basin includes otters and wild boar, ducks and eagles.

The lake is no stranger to pollution from its big city neighbour, but it had actually been getting cleaner in recent years. Six decades of dredging its shell beds to make asphalt and cement came to an end in 1991.

Pontchartrain's ecosystem may have been hit directly by Katrina at the very beginning, when surges of seawater from the Gulf of Mexico arrived, dangerously increasing its salt content.

Certainly, the hurricane itself did serious ecological damage further north, along the Gulf Coast, where a storm wave with a peak of nine metres (30ft) was recorded. "On the Mississippi coast, the water went in and went out - in New Orleans, it went in and sat there," said Professor Day.

Warnings 'ignored'
The wetlands, which act as a natural brake on hurricane surges, have been reduced by about 25% over the last century by development.

As a rule of thumb, for every mile of wetlands that a storm surge passes, it reduces the flooding by a foot, the professor says. He argues that if the US federal authorities had heeded ecological warnings and spent $20-25bn on restoring wetlands in the Mississippi Delta, America would not now be facing a bill of $100bn.

Washington, Professor Day says, must finally take global climate change seriously as the rising sea level and more frequent hurricanes many associate with it impact directly on low-lying areas like New Orleans.

Link to site: New Orleans prepared a second time to reopen a neighborhood to residents.

Return to: watercenter.org sciencefaircenter.com watercenter.net

Highlights:
- Rita spared most of the city but left its mark on the lower 9th Ward

Laura Parker, USA TODAY
NEW ORLEANS — The sun came out Sunday, and convoys of utility trucks that had taken cover for Hurricane Rita reappeared. New Orleans prepared a second time to reopen a neighborhood to residents.
Rita spared most of the city but left its mark on the lower 9th Ward, the ruined neighborhood east of the French Quarter that once was home to the city's poorest residents. Water from Rita's torrential rains cascaded into the neighborhood again after breaches appeared in the levee along the Industrial Canal. The Army Corps of Engineers piled rocks and sandbags to close the breaches. Mitch Frazier, a corps spokesman, said the 9th Ward could be pumped dry again within a week.

Mayor Ray Nagin wants to return residents to Algiers, across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter downtown. Power, sewer and water service has been restored there for at least a week. And businesses had been reopening until the city was evacuated again late last week to wait out Rita.

The streets here were virtually deserted over the weekend as Rita's outer bands lashed the city. Soldiers patrolling neighborhoods took cover, and work crews disappeared. Two cruise ships housing 6,000 city employees sought refuge in the Gulf of Mexico, which forced Nagin to find temporary quarters for them.

Nagin said he hoped, if things go smoothly in Algiers, to press ahead and bring residents back into the Uptown neighborhood. That neighborhood includes the Garden District and Tulane University, west of the French Quarter. Finally, he would open the French Quarter. But unlike his first attempt to repopulate the city, he did not announce a timetable and said he would wait to see how things go.

"We're talking about people who are mobile. We're not asking people to come back who have a lot of kids, a lot of senior citizens," he said. "That's going to be the reality of New Orleans moving forward."

Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who is in charge of the federal disaster effort in the city, agreed that the city can resume its efforts to bring business owners and residents back to the least-damaged neighborhoods. But he urged a cautionary approach.

"The mayor needs (to take) some thoughtful approach to ... the areas that have been reflooded and the areas that may remain uninhabitable for safety, health and other reasons," the admiral said Sunday on ABC's This Week. "And I think a timetable associated with that still needs to be worked out."

The city is filled with tree branches and other debris. Power lines still dangle. Only a few traffic lights are operating, and no stores or gas stations have reopened.

Northwest of the French Quarter in the Mid City neighborhood, water had risen above porches. On Sunday, Scott Casey, 39, came back to pick up a few things from his house. He was shocked by what he saw. He empathized with the mayor's effort to repopulate the city, but he said there's no need for anyone to rush home until there's something to come home to. "They're going to have to bring them back to the neighborhoods a block at a time," Casey said. "When you come here, you realize it's like a desert. There's nothing. It's too soon."

Link to site: statistical glance at the Katrina environmental cleanup

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Highlights:
- 140,000 square miles of waterways and coastal zones, including 6,400 miles of shoreline.
- 1,369 drums, 679 tanks, 979 cylinders, 17 fuel cells, 5,735 other containers, 718,216 gallons of fuel removed, and 49,000 gallons of oil/water recovered.
- Cases of hazardous materials and oil pollution - 575.


The Associated Press, September 24. 2005
A statistical glance at the Katrina environmental cleanup:
Area covered - 140,000 square miles of waterways and coastal zones, including 6,400 miles of shoreline.
Debris collected in Alabama and Mississippi - 1,369 drums, 679 tanks, 979 cylinders, 17 fuel cells, 5,735 other containers, 718,216 gallons of fuel removed, and 49,000 gallons of oil/water recovered.
Sunken or damaged vessels assessed in the two states - 400.
Cases of hazardous materials and oil pollution - 575.
Environmental threat in Louisiana - 7.4 million gallons of oil discharged from tank storage plants - most of it recovered - with 11 major or medium spills.

Source: Coast Guard's Gulf Strike Team, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and state environmental agencies.

Link to site: Ocean Circulation Group

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Highlights:
- Katrina Current Tracking Tool
- Daily Wind Field


Ocean Circulation Group Check out these graphic models.
Loop Current trajectories: 14 September Movie
*** Revised version of 14 September movie (20 September 2005) ***
*** Revised version of 14 September movie (23 September 2005) ***

Loop Current trajectories: 7 September Movie
*** Revised version of 7 September movie (20 September 2005) ***
*** Revised version of 7 September movie (23 September 2005) ***

Wind Field Movie

Link to site: Cleanup faced a storm of new obstacles with the arrival of Hurricane Rita, which spread more debris as it churned in from the Gulf of Mexico.

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Highlights:
- At this point, we're not sure what's out there,"
- The testing will continue quarterly for the next year, he said.
- The cleanup covers 140,000 square miles of waterways and coastal zones, including nearly 6,400 miles of zigzagging shoreline.

GARRY MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer, September 23. 2005
Hurricane Katrina's deadly debris-scattering slam into the Gulf Coast left messy fuel spills, leaky sunken vessels and toxic chemical threats across a broad, battered shoreline.

The multi-agency task force attempting to carry out the cleanup faced a storm of new obstacles with the arrival of Hurricane Rita, which spread more debris as it churned in from the Gulf of Mexico.

But even before Rita, scientists said they have never encountered such a catastrophe as Katrina. "At this point, we're not sure what's out there," said marine scientist Russell Callender, director of NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment program.

Next week, he said, NOAA and its federal partners will begin sampling and analyzing waters and sediments from Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, the Mississippi Sound and the outfalls of the Mississippi Delta, looking for signs of contamination.The testing will continue quarterly for the next year, he said.

"We really don't have a good picture at this point in terms of how big the problem might be," Callender said.

Sheer numbers tell part of the story: The cleanup covers 140,000 square miles of waterways and coastal zones, including nearly 6,400 miles of zigzagging shoreline. But David Dorian, an Atlanta-based environmental engineer at EPA, says the most dangerous elements are not necessarily the big ones, such as submerged, leaking vessels.

One particular hazard: chlorine cylinders found in the debris dislodged from water treatment plants. "Chlorine is quite deadly," he said. Some cylinders had washed up in residential areas, posing a threat to returning residents and contractors arriving to help in the recovery.

As storm debris piles grow, inspectors will mark the ones with hazardous materials, Dorian said, so they can be separated out before collection. Lt. Cmdr. Jim Elliot of the Coast Guard's Gulf Strike Team said at least 400 sunken or damaged vessels in Alabama and Mississippi have been assessed and photographed in the wake of Katrina. The Mobile-based team is trying to track down their owners, and a similar effort based in Baton Rouge is underway for Louisiana waters. Most of the vessels targeted for removal have been in hard-hit Mississippi - at Pass Christian, the Industrial Canal of Biloxi and the Pascagoula River area.

In Alabama, Elliot said 72 fishing vessels in Bayou La Batre were damaged or submerged by Katrina. Ten of those vessels in the fishing village were being pulled out of the water because of fuel leaks. Elliot said federal officials try to find the owners before taking charge of a vessel in distress.

"If it's a hazard to human health or the environment, we will take care of the situation, pump out the oil and take off the hazardous material," he said. If it's cost-effective for the government, the vessel also could be removed from the water, taking care to protect the environment.

If there's a vessel stranded in a wetland, for example, before they dredge out a channel to get the boat out, all options must be weighed. There are some environmental permit issues involved in salvaging a vessel.

"That's why we're contacting owners to see what their intentions are," Elliot said.

The Gulf Strike Team, organized more than 30 years ago, has handled at least 575 cases of hazardous materials and oil pollution in Alabama and Mississippi caused by Katrina.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management officials on the team said they closely monitored 73 public water systems - all disrupted to some extent by Katrina. As of Sept. 13, all of those systems were operating again.

In Louisiana, environmental threats have included 7.4 million gallons of oil discharged from tank storage plants. Coast Guard officials said 7.1 million gallons of it had been recovered - either contained or naturally dispersed. Nearly 800 contractors responded to the 11 major and medium spills in Louisiana.

The number of sunken vessels in Louisiana waters was not immediately available.

Besides the Coast Guard, the cleanup team includes the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as state environmental agencies.

Commercial and private contractors also have been hired for the cleanup, with the biggest challenges in Mississippi - a large above-ground fuel tank that contained 1.7 million gallons of gasoline, a pool chemical manufacturer and hospitals' biological wastes.

In Alabama, Elliot said, Katrina-damaged fishing vessels caused the most problems.

The Katrina cleanup comes on the heels of another. Elliot recalled that it took about eight months to clean up after Hurricane Ivan struck last September.

Link to site: Now the trail's entrance sign warns: "Do Not Enter, Toxic,"

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Highlights:
- "This is what I would call catastrophic damage to our national wildlife refuges."
- coastal Louisiana alone produces 30 percent of the nation's domestic seafood
- The storm hurt 25 national wildlife refuges that will cost at least $93 million to repair, according to preliminary estimates, a figure equal to a quarter of the entire federal budget for the refuges. Sixteen are temporarily closed.

JULIET EILPERIN, The Washington Post
Until a couple of weeks ago, Mississippi's Clower-Thornton Nature Trail lured avid birders as well as small children, who wandered in fascination underneath its broad canopy of oak and dogwood trees. Now the trail's entrance sign warns: "Do Not Enter, Toxic," and the surrounding habitat is dying.
"Every tree is brown, every leaf is blown off," said Donna Yowell, executive director of the Mississippi Urban Forest Council, after touring the area. Hurricane Katrina, Yowell added, "has turned it into a toxic waste site overnight."
The scene of devastation in Gulfport, Miss., is just one of the ecological disasters to emerge as scientists, activists and state and federal officials have begun documenting how the hurricane damaged one of the nation's largest networks of estuaries, wetlands and cypress swamps -- a varied and watery ecosystem that sustains a wealth of birds, fish and vegetation. From polluted fisheries to battered forests, the Gulf Coast's habitat has suffered losses that will take years to restore, they say.
"It's as much a disaster for the places set aside to conserve wildlife as for the cities and the people who have been impacted," said Evan Hirsche, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "This is what I would call catastrophic damage to our national wildlife refuges." There are 25 in the affected area.
In the aftermath of Katrina's unprecedented devastation, industrial toxins are seeping into coastal waters. Already-eroded barrier islands have washed away.
Federal authorities have devoted much of their attention so far to the contaminated water in New Orleans, where floodwaters are said to be laced with industrial toxins and untreated sewage. The city's flooded area includes 121 known contaminated sites and more than 1,000 that are possibly contaminated, according to Environmental Data Resources Inc., a firm based in Milford, Conn., that compiles environmental information on private and public property.
The polluted water is being pumped out into neighboring Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico, and is likely to affect areas far beyond the city's confines. Federal scientists are already investigating whether the contaminants have damaged valuable fisheries in the gulf, and some scientists and local activists are worried that Lake Pontchartrain is being sacrificed.
On Tuesday, environmental activists released satellite images showing large oil slicks a few miles offshore, in the Gulf of Mexico, some stemming from known oil platform locations and stretching as far as 40 miles. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson said the agency has documented five oil spills in the New Orleans area.
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dispatched a research vessel, the Nancy Foster, to the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to collect and test fish and shrimp, as well as water and sediment samples. The agency has also hired a commercial shrimp boat to take samples in the Mississippi Sound.
NOAA Fisheries Director Bill Hogarth said the agency will release its results in about a week, adding it would take "a minimum of two years" to restore the oyster industry.
"Obviously, we have to start paying attention to the potential of an environmental disaster," said Steve Murawski, NOAA Fisheries' chief science adviser. "This is a major fishing area."
The Gulf of Mexico ranks second only to Alaska among America's largest fisheries; coastal Louisiana alone produces 30 percent of the nation's domestic seafood. The Congressional Research Service estimated the hurricane may cost Louisiana's shrimpers $540 million in sales over the next year.
Experts suspect the hurricane has swamped everything from oyster beds to the sea grass that provides a critical nursery for fish, and the flush of nutrients from sewage-laden water into the gulf could spark massive algae blooms deadly to marine organisms.
"What we're looking at here is too much of a good thing," said Hans Paerl, professor of marine and environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, citing the nutrient influx. "And what is the impact of those pollutants that are coming in, I don't think we know very well at all."
Congress plans to examine the question soon: Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on environment and hazardous materials, will start hearings at the EPA's "earliest convenience," said his spokesman Brad Mascho.
Scientists and local advocates are particularly concerned about Lake Pontchartrain, which had begun to recover from decades of pollution. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-La., whose district encompasses the lake's north shore, said residents are worried the contaminants from New Orleans floodwaters will undo the progress made over the past decade.
In addition to unleashing toxic and human refuse, the hurricane destroyed habitat critical to area wildlife. The storm hurt 25 national wildlife refuges that will cost at least $93 million to repair, according to preliminary estimates, a figure equal to a quarter of the entire federal budget for the refuges. Sixteen are temporarily closed.
In Mississippi's Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, the hurricane felled pine trees crucial to the survival of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker; Breton Island, a sanctuary for nesting and wintering seabirds and shorebirds, has largely washed away.
"It's going to damage things," said Cathy Shropshire, executive director of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation.
Steve Cochran, a Louisiana native who now works as a senior staffer at the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, said the hurricane dealt the final blow to flora and fauna that have declined for decades because of habitat loss.
"All of those things, entirely unique to that part of the world, have been disappearing since about, say, 1927, and now they've disappeared altogether," Cochran said, recalling swamp lilies he used to find right outside New Orleans. "Too few people have experienced them, and now, no one else will."

Link to site: Coastal managers are concerned that the runoff from Hurricane Katrina New Orleans' Katrina runoff may float by on way to Atlantic

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Highlights:
- couldreach Florida shores or affect its coastal environment.
- concern about Tropical Storm Rita hooking a right after it passes the Keys
- NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency say they are coordinating a sampling effort with boats
CATHY ZOLLO, A massive plume of toxic water washed from New Orleans into the Gulf of Mexico is sliding south on its way to becoming a Florida problem.

Coastal managers are concerned that the runoff from Hurricane Katrina -- rich in chemicals, pesticides, petroleum products, pathogens and a host of unknowns -- couldreach Florida shores or affect its coastal environment.

There's also some concern about Tropical Storm Rita hooking a right after it passes the Keys, which could have dire consequences for the Gulf Coast.

"If this other hurricane tracks up into that same area, ... it could provide the mechanism to push the water right into" the Florida coast, said Peter Ortner, director of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami. "That's what we're watching like hawks."

A preliminary research cruise took samples last week along the northern Gulf Coast from Pensacola to the Mississippi Sound. And officials with the NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency say they are coordinating a sampling effort with boats from both agencies that will take in northern Gulf Coast areas and open water.

Results from initial testing won't be back for about three weeks, Ortner said.

The noxious brew spewing from a flooded New Orleans is taking two paths to the state, oceanographers say.

One is heading east out of Lake Pontchartrain toward the Panhandle along the shore. Another that could threaten the Dry Tortugas and the Keys reef track got caught in the northern tip of the loop current that flows up between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf.

The current looks like a bent bobby pin, jutting north, then looping back south along the Florida coast roughly 150 to 300 miles offshore. It then moves past the Keys into the Atlantic.

"I'm more concerned for the Keys than I am for Sarasota," said Robert Weisberg, professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science. "Anything that may get into that strong permanent loop current flow will go to the vicinity of the Florida Keys, the vicinity of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and then off to North Carolina."

Coastal managers in the Keys already know that the water picked up by the current could become trapped in an eddy adjacent to the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve. It has happened with Mississippi River water in the past, though nothing as as toxic as what's headed south now.

The reserve "is an area that has remained relatively pristine because it's isolated from major population areas," said Cheva Heck, spokeswoman for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We're concerned about the water coming down from the Mississippi area, and we are watching it."

Weisberg, who is part of the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System, or SEACOOS, began modeling what the water might do almost immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

Using virtual drifters, Weisberg's modeling takes some of the water south to the Keys and out along the the Keys reef track, then up along the state's east coast. Some, possibly the most potent since it comes out of Lake Pontchartrain, heads east toward the Florida Panhandle.

Some observers say the federal government waited too long to begin monitoring the plume.

"There always should have been a plan for this," said Mitchell Roffer, a biological oceanographer from Miami. "Everyone should have been ready to do these kinds of things. ... It wasn't until the public started to complain that the agencies responded."

EPA officials say they're doing the best they can with a volume of pollution unlike anything seen before, and they vow to stay on top of it.

"We're taking it seriously," said EPA spokeswoman Laura Niles. "It's an unprecedented event. It's hard to compare it to anything else."

Link to site: Toxins common in most urban environments that made their way en masse into the water

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Highlights:
- the stagnant waters are contaminated because they’ve soaked up “legacy” pollutants
- water in contact with the urban environment, all the potential contaminants that stayed around in that environment are now back in the water
- runoff from an elevated section of Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge contained some contaminants at levels “greater than those found in untreated municipal wastewater from the same service area,
- If you pick up this potentially toxic material before it gets into the hydrological cycle, it is far more economical than if you try to take it out of the water after the fact

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Broken sewers, flooded industrial plants and dead bodies are all likely to blame for poisoning the waters being drained from New Orleans. But the water – and the muck it is leaving behind — also owes its contamination to a source as mundane as it is unexpected: Toxins common in most urban environments that made their way en masse into the water as it stagnated atop the city.

So says a University of Florida professor who has spent years studying the harmful contaminants that turn up in urban runoff, or rainwater that washes across streets and other hard surfaces in cities. Environmental engineering professor John Sansalone’s perspective is especially relevant because it is based on field research in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where he was a professor at Louisiana State University before taking a job at UF this summer.

“What we see in New Orleans is that when you put a lot of water in contact with the urban environment, all the potential contaminants that stayed around in that environment are now back in the water – definitely, to our horror,” Sansalone said.

Federal and Louisiana officials continue to sound alarms about the contaminated waters and scum left behind by the retreating flood. Early September test results released late last week showed high levels of bacteria, lead and harmful levels of chemicals including arsenic, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

While the sources of these and other contaminants remain under investigation, public scrutiny has focused on broken sewer pipes and other major failures in the city’s infrastructure attributed to Hurricane Katrina. Though these are certainly real problems, it’s also highly likely that the stagnant waters are contaminated because they’ve soaked up “legacy” pollutants that accumulated during normal conditions on the city’s streets, sidewalks, roofs and other impermeable surfaces, Sansalone said.

These pollutants, which normally appear in urban runoff, are more toxic than commonly understood, he said. In a study published last month in Water Environment Research, Sansalone and three co-authors report that runoff from an elevated section of Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge contained some contaminants at levels “greater than those found in untreated municipal wastewater from the same service area,” according to the study.

The findings were based on periodic analysis of runoff that drains off Interstate 10 into Baton Rouge’s City Park Lake just below the highway. Based on data first gathered in 1999, they revealed high levels of particulates, or microscopic- to millimeter-sized particles of material, as well as high chemical oxygen demand, an indicator of the presence of organic chemicals in oil, gas, grease, cigarette filters and other pollution.

Other research on urban runoff, meanwhile, has detected high levels of toxic metals and nutrients including phosphorus thought to leach from building materials, Sansalone said.

Organic chemicals are particularly dangerous to fish and other aquatic life because they reduce the levels of oxygen in the water, impinging on its ability to support life. Particulates cloud water, reducing sunlight penetration and plant growth. Once they cross a certain threshold, organic chemicals and metals also can be harmful to people.

New Orleans officials remain extremely concerned about bacterial contamination in the flood waters. Typically the result of contamination from untreated sewage, bacteria also can come from urban runoff, Sansalone said. Although it was not measured as part of his published study, other studies have found that such runoff contains heightened levels of bacteria stemming from bird and animal droppings, among other sources.

Sansalone said based on his studies of urban runoff alone, it’s critical that environmental officials scour the city of flood residue. “How we clean up this residual matter – which will not be easy – will be a chronic issue to the health of the city,” he said.

He said the contamination in New Orleans also highlights the need for other cities nationwide to do more to remove the toxins in urban runoff before, rather than after, it gets washed into waterways. There are several good strategies, he said. Increasingly affordable “permeable pavements” allow runoff to be stored, evaporate or percolate through pavement and into the ground, where soil and microorganisms can help filter the contaminants. Planting vegetation and especially trees also creates aesthetically pleasing buffer zones, providing storm water flooding control and other benefits. Finally, cities can use high-tech street sweeping equipment that is very effective at capturing pavement contaminants.

“If you pick up this potentially toxic material before it gets into the hydrological cycle, it is far more economical than if you try to take it out of the water after the fact,” he said.

Link to site: Free testing of those wells to determine if they have dangerous levels of bacteria

Return to: watercenter.org sciencefaircenter.com watercenter.net

Highlights:
- drinking water well systems may have been contaminated by Hurricane Katrina and the storm's floodwaters
- offering the free testing.
- homeowner must disinfect the well with a chlorine bleach solution, flush it, collect water samples and drop them off for the lab analysis.

The Associated Press, BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) 9/19/2005 — Residents whose private drinking water well systems may have been contaminated by Hurricane Katrina and the storm's floodwaters can get free testing of those wells to determine if they have dangerous levels of bacteria.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Rural Water Association are offering the free testing.

If a water well was flooded, the homeowner must disinfect the well with a chlorine bleach solution, flush it, collect water samples and drop them off for the lab analysis.

The sampling supplies and instructions on how to properly disinfect the well can be picked up at parish health units. For further details, call the health units:

_St. Tammany Parish Health Unit at 985-893-6296.

_Livingston Parish Health Unit at 225-686-7017.

_Washington Parish Health Unit at 985-839-5646.

_Tangipahoa Parish Health Unit at 985-543-4175.

Link to site: Pollution flushed into the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina is not likely to reach Galveston County beaches

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Highlights:
- I don’t believe there will be an impact on Texas’ coastline
- Any pollutants will be rapidly diluted with seawater
- most of the microbes could not survive the time spent in the saltier offshore waters

Kelly Hawes, The Daily News, September 19, 2005
Experts say pollution flushed into the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina is not likely to reach Galveston County beaches.

“I don’t believe there will be an impact on Texas’ coastline,” said Norman Guinasso, director of the geochemical environmental research group at Texas A&M University at Galveston. “The water will flush slowly into the Mississippi Bight, and the water there will mix gradually out into the Gulf of Mexico.” The threat will dissipate quickly, he said.

“Any pollutants will be rapidly diluted with seawater,” he said, “and the currents sending water in Texas’ direction are presently weak ones.”

Guinasso offered the assessment in an advisory issued by the university’s Sea Grant program.

In that same advisory, John Schwartz, a professor of marine biology at the university’s Galveston campus, said swimmers had no reason to worry.

“While it is doubtful that the contaminated waters from New Orleans will reach Texas, it is even less likely that many potentially harmful microbes would be left in the waters,” he said. “First, the microbial numbers would be greatly diluted before they reached Texas, and second, most of the microbes could not survive the time spent in the saltier offshore waters.”

If any did survive, Schwartz said, the biggest threat would be from bacteria found in human waste. For the most part, the bacteria cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting.

“They are normally self-limiting and nonfatal,” he said.

Those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. But to come down with anything serious, he said, they’d have to drink the contaminated water or have it touch an open wound.

The scourge of cholera is also unlikely, he said.

“Cholera would be present only if the fecal material from a previously infected person ended up in the waters,” Schwartz said.

Sammy Ray, also a professor of marine biology at the Galveston campus, said the only seafood affected by contamination would be oysters from mid-Louisiana to Mobile Bay. And there aren’t likely any oysters there to harvest.

“There probably won’t be any oysters from this region for the next 18 to 24 months,” he said.

For now, he said, the oysters finding their way to market will come from mid-Louisiana westward to Texas.

“Consumers should be confident about the safety of the product,” Ray said.

David Bazan, a member of the coastal studies team at the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, agreed.

“Scientists are monitoring the situation,” he said, “and if there is an indication that humans could be affected by contaminants from Hurricane Katrina floodwaters, we will do our best to make sure the public is informed.”

Link to site: All the system's equipment is damaged.

Return to: watercenter.org sciencefaircenter.com watercenter.net

Highlights:
- help this storm-ravaged Gulf Coast town restore its water and sewage treatment plants
- The flood damaged crucial pumps in both the water and sewage treatment plants
- water is flowing in some sections of Waveland, but it has to be boiled before drinking
- Lines carrying drinking water will have to be repaired and the system sanitized.

LEON ALLIGOOD, Staff Writer,
WAVELAND, Miss. — Wes Frye shrugged his shoulders and sighed. The special projects manager for Nashville's Metro Water Services has done a lot of both shrugging and sighing since he and 29 other Nashvillians arrived here late Wednesday night to help this storm-ravaged Gulf Coast town restore its water and sewage treatment plants.

You just don't know where to begin. Just about all the system's equipment is damaged. We'll just do the best we can do. That's all we can do,'' he said.

If ever there was a "special project," the Hancock County, Miss., Water and Sewer Department certainly is one. "We're all messed up," confirmed Ray Bingham, a two-year employee of the local department.

"If we had to get this back up ourselves, it probably wouldn't get done for a long, long time. Even with help, it's still probably going to be a long, long time,'' he said.

A storm surge of at least 28 feet of seawater pushed ashore with terrific force, washing away hundreds of homes and businesses in Waveland, Bay St. Louis and other Hancock County towns. The flood damaged crucial pumps in both the water and sewage treatment plants.

Three weeks later, the water is flowing in some sections of Waveland, but it has to be boiled before drinking. Most of the district's 22 sewage-pumping stations are not working because of a lack of electrical power or because they're clogged by debris.

In addition, there are bound to be broken pipes, Frye said. Lines carrying drinking water will have to be repaired and the system sanitized. Fractured sewer lines will have to be located and replaced. The lack of running water and working sewers raises fears of disease spreading.

"The problem is, they have no idea what's broke and what isn't," Frye said.

Eighteen of the 30 Nashvillians deployed to Mississippi for two weeks are members of Tennessee Task Force II, an Urban Search and Rescue unit based in Nashville. The deployment to help out with Katrina-related damage marks the first time the unit has been sent out of state.

Besides water department employees, the deployed team includes representatives from Metro's Public Works and General Services departments and the Metro Office of Emergency Management. Providing security for the team are four deputies from the Davidson County sheriff's department.

The men's headquarters are at Stennis International Airport, about six miles north of Waveland, where hundreds of relief workers, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the National Guard, are stationed.

The Nashville group's orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were to come as a self-contained unit, with tents, cots to sleep on, generators to power lights, computers and other equipment, a fuel truck and a water truck.

"We're the only outside agency giving help to this water department, as far as we can tell,'' said Scott Harris of the Metro Office of Emergency Management.

"And from what we see, they need as much help as they can get."

Yesterday, water department employees crisscrossed Waveland, going from one sewage pumping station to another. Foul-smelling sewage water had backed up when the system lost power in the storm, and before the units could be worked on, the water had to go.

Using what amounted to a giant vacuum cleaner, the crews cleaned out a half-dozen pumping stations and then emptied the black water into a containment pond on the edge of town.

Another group replaced a heavy-duty water pump at a well that is one source of the district's water supply.

The days ahead will present more of the same kinds of problems.

The men from Tennessee had seen the destruction of Katrina on television, but as they drove up and down the roads leading to the Waveland beach they were astounded by its extent.

"It's just beyond comprehension,'' said Les Buckner, an equipment operator. "You have to see this in person to actually understand the enormity of it all. It makes you feel grateful for what you have in the way of comforts at home. People are camping out in their yards, and that's all they've got."

Frye said the city's system would not be up and running normally for maybe six months, or longer.

"The hardest thing is that at many of the homes, there's nobody living there, and the folks who did live there may not be coming back. The water and sewer department here doesn't have near the customers they used to,'' Frye said, again with a sigh.

"It's the worst thing I've ever seen, but we'll do what we can."

Link to site: low levels of harmful bacteria in the waters around Harrison and Jackson counties.

Return to: watercenter.org sciencefaircenter.com watercenter.net

Highlights:
- six Coast locations last week show surprisingly low levels of harmful bacteria in the waters
- did not test for industrial chemical contaminants
- not show the effects on water quality from the millions of cubic yards of debris that washed into Mississippi Sound and surrounding waters when Katrina's storm surge receded.
- limits for a single measurement of enterococci are 104 bacterial colonies for every 100 milliliters of water.

MIKE KELLER, Sun Herald, Sep 18, 2005
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI - Water samples taken by the Sun Herald at six Coast locations last week show surprisingly low levels of harmful bacteria in the waters around Harrison and Jackson counties.

"I would have expected these numbers to be much higher under the circumstances," said Henry Folmar, lab director for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Office of Pollution Control. "I'm really pleasantly surprised."

The samples were taken to show a snapshot of the health of coastal waters after Hurricane Katrina struck last month. The results cannot be viewed as a comprehensive picture of storm-related environmental problems.

In addition, the analysis only tested for possible sewage in the water; it did not test for industrial chemical contaminants.

It also would not show the effects on water quality from the millions of cubic yards of debris that washed into Mississippi Sound and surrounding waters when Katrina's storm surge receded.

The samples were analyzed by Envirochem of Mobile, Ala., an analytical laboratory certified by the states of Alabama and Mississippi to conduct such analyses. The lab looked for colonies of enterococci bacteria, a pathogenic bacteria that indicates sewage pollution in fresh and salt water.

Mississippi's Department of Environmental Quality normally monitors beaches and waterways for enterococci bacteria, though those efforts have not resumed since the storm. Folmar said DEQ and the U.S. Geological Survey will begin water testing later this week when a USGS mobile lab arrives in the area.

Government limits for a single measurement of enterococci are 104 bacterial colonies for every 100 milliliters of water. When that threshold is exceeded, the government shuts down beaches, because human contact with the water could cause serious illness.

The six samples were taken from both inland and coastal surface waters. The sites were selected to get an indication of any potential dangers to residents. From west to east, samples were taken from: Saint Louis Bay, at the northern tip of Pass Christian; inside Gulfport harbor, just south of the Copa Casino; Biloxi beach, at U.S. 90 and DeBuys Road; Biloxi Bay, north of Bayview Avenue and the state office building; the Escatawpa River in Jackson County, under Highway 63; and the west bank of Bayou Casotte, north of Halter Marine and across from Mississippi Phosphates.

Each site had its own peculiar rancid smell. One place smelled like sewage, while another smelled like chemicals and still another smelled like a combination of the two.

The two samples taken in Saint Louis Bay and Biloxi beach yielded results of 136 and 400 colonies respectively.

The beach sample was almost four times greater than DEQ's limit and the Saint Louis Bay number would have caused authorities to shut down the beach and issue warnings to avoid contact with the water.

In Gulfport harbor 60 colonies showed up and in the Back Bay there were 46 colonies. There were 40 colonies in Jackson County's Escatawpa River sample; Bayou Casotte yielded only six colonies. Both Jackson County sites were located in sparsely populated industrial areas, possibly accounting for the low results.

According to Folmar, the amount of harmful bacteria found on any one day can be very different from those found on another. Southern Mississippi has been fortunate with weeks of full sun after Katrina, which served to evaporate standing water from the land. The next time the area gets a heavy rain, much of the organic matter that dried up will wash into surrounding waterways.

Though some bacteria levels measured in the water samples were high, they were nowhere close to what they could be, Folmar said.

Recent EPA water tests in New Orleans showed in some samples over 13,000 colonies of coliform bacteria, another indicator of sewage in the water.

"We've got water-quality problems here on the Coast, but I don't believe it's anywhere near the magnitude they're seeing in New Orleans," Folmar said.

Link to site: Oceanographers call it the Loop Current

Return to: watercenter.org sciencefaircenter.com watercenter.net

Highlights:
- nothing along the northern Gulf Coast will ever be the same
- water that overwhelmed the levees in New Orleans is contaminated with sewage, lead and to a lesser degree pesticides, tests show
- Winds play a role, too, especially along the coast
- We have many questions

Lenore Greenstein, Eric Staats (Contact), Sunday, Sep 18, 2005
The Gulf of Mexico’s deep currents follow a path that wiggles and jiggles every year as it loops through waters hundreds of miles offshore.Oceanographers call it the Loop Current, and its gyrations are getting more attention this year, for the same reason nothing along the northern Gulf Coast will ever be the same: Hurricane Katrina.
Katrina left behind an environmental catastrophe that scientists and fishermen worry could ride Gulf currents across important fishing grounds off Tampa Bay and into sensitive ecosystems in the Dry Tortugas and Florida Keys.
The water that overwhelmed the levees in New Orleans is contaminated with sewage, lead and to a lesser degree pesticides, tests show. Crews are draining the city by pumping the water into Lake Pontchartrain, which is