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

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

Historic Ambient Water Sites and 5 Post-Katrina Sites Approach to Lake Pontchartrain Damage Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Parameters being analyzed o Conventionals, Field  Dissolved Oxygen*  Temperature*  pH*  Salinity  Conductivity  Oil Sheen (presence or absence)* o Metals #  Arsenic*  Cadmium*  Chromium*  Copper*  Lead*  Mercury*  Nickel*  Zinc* *Has Louisiana water quality standards # All sites analyzed for dissolved metals; two canal sites analyzed for total metals

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Parameters being analyzed o Conventionals, Laboratory  Fecal Coliform*  Turbidity*  Chloride*  Sulfate*  Total Suspended Solids  Total Solids  Total Dissolved Solids*  Biological Oxygen Demand  Alkalinity  Nitrate-Nitrite  Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen  Ammonia Nitrogen  Total Phosphorus  Hardness  Chemical Oxygen Demand  Total Organic Carbon  Color* * Has Louisiana water quality standards

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Organic parameters being analyzed (66 compounds) 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane 1,1,1-Trichloroethane* 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane* 1,1,2-Trichloroethane* 1,1-Dichloroethane 1,1-Dichloroethene 1,1-Dichloropropene 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene 1,2,3-Trichloropropane 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane 1,2-Dibromethane 1,2-Dichlorobenzene 1,2-Dichlorethane* 1,2-Dichloropropane 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 1,3-Dichlorobenzene 1,3-Dichloropropane 1,4-Dichlorobenzene 1,4-Dichlorobenzene-d4 1-Chloro-2-bromopropane 2,2-Dichloropropane 2-Chlorotoluene 4-Chlorotoluene a,a,a-Trifluorotoluene Benzene* Bromobenzene Bromochloromethane Bromodichloromethane* Bromoform* Bromomethane Carbon tetrachloride* Chloride, Ion Chromatograph Chlorobenzene Chlorobenzene-d5 Chloroethane Chloroform* Chloromethane* cis-1,2-Dichloroethane cis-1,3-Dichloropropene* Dibromochloromethane* Dibromomethane Dichlorodifluoromethane Fluorobenzene Hexachlorobutadiene* Isopropylbenzene Methyl tert-Butyl Ether Methylene Chloride* Naphthalene n-Butylbenzene Ethylbenzene* O-Xylene p & m-Xylenes p-Isopropyltoluene Propylbenzene sec-Buytlbenzene Styrene t-1,2-Dichloroethene* t-1,3-Dichloropropene* Tertbutylbenzene Tetrachlorethene* Toluene* Trichloroethene* Trichlorofluoromethane Vinyl Chloride* * Has Louisiana water quality standards

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Pesticides analysis by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry  Alachlor (Lasso)  Aldrin*  Atrazine  Bifenthrin  Imidacloprid  Carbaryl (Sevin)  Chlordane*  Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)  Cypermethrin  Diazinon  Permethrin  Dieldrin*  Endosulfin*  Endrin*  Fipronil (and metabolites)  Heptachlor*  Lindane*  Malathion  Metolachlor (Dual)  + about 60 other pesticides… * Has Louisiana water quality standards

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

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

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

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Volume of floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain is minimal compared to the volume of the lake

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Northshore Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality Summation of water quality assessments for Pontchartrain region: Northshore o Except Tangipahoa River, Northshore streams impacted by low dissolved oxygen  Woody debris  Resuspended sediments  This situation will resolve as the debris decays or is removed o Reported fish kills in the Northshore area are the result of low DO o Slightly elevated levels of fecal coliforms were detected but are not unusual for the area o No detectable concentrations of organic compounds

Western Region Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality o Incidences of low dissolved oxygen levels may occur as tributaries to Lake Maurepas carry organic loading (due to decaying vegetation) into the lake Summation of water quality assessments for Pontchartrain region: Western Region

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality Swimming standard is 400 colonies/100 mL. Maximum observation was 5 colonies/100 mL.

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Turbidity standard is 50 NTU. Maximum value observed was <11.

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality o Dissolved oxygen, fecal coliforms, and turbidity meet water quality standards o Water quality parameters across the causeway have remained at or near values expected for this time of year o There have been no detectable concentrations of organic compounds along the causeway o There have been no reports of oil sheen on the water Summation of water quality assessments for Pontchartrain region: Causeway

½ mile Off Southshore Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality o Water quality parameters are at or near expected values for this time of year o There have been no reports of oil sheen on the water Summation of water quality assessments for Lake Pontchartrain region: Near- Southshore

Southshore Canal Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality

Louisiana EnvironmentalQuality o Dissolved oxygen levels have been slightly depressed due to high organic loading o There have been no reports of oil sheen on the water o Fecal coliform results have been somewhat elevated Summation of water quality assessments for Lake Pontchartrain region: Southshore Canals

Eastern Region Water Quality USGS has been able to sample this region for bacteria samples only once due to accessibility and sample time issues. Water bodies will continue to be sampled as accessibility improves.

Eastern Region Water Quality Assessment

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Swimming standard is 400 colonies/100 mL. Maximum observation was 6 colonies/100 mL.

Organic Compound Analysis

Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality Organic Compound Analysis in the Lake and tributaries o Of the approximately 6,000 analytical results (144 samples) for organic compounds in ambient water, nearly all have been below detection levels o When detected, none have exceeded water quality standards

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

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

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