What is in the water going into Lake Pontchartrain and the river?
The floodwaters of the New Orleans area are being sampled for bacteria commonly found in raw sewage, as well as for a suite of chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), total metals, pesticides, herbicides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Sampling is being conducted by the EPA, the USGS, and Louisiana DEQ. Sampling results will be available via EPA’s Web site once data is validated.
