Abstract
 Water Quality Issues in New Orleans during Katrina Recovery Track: Disaster Mangagement and Emergency Response Author(s): William Roper, Kevin Weiss, James Wheeler Following the passage of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was left with 80 percent of its land area flooded. Waters quickly became heavily polluted with petroleum products, industrial chemicals, raw sewage, dead animals, etc. Pump out operations were a high priority to dry out the city and start recovery. A variety of approaches and technologies were evaluated to achieve treatment with minimal impact on pumping operations. More than 100 water quality sampling sites were set up to characterize water conditions. High-risk areas were identified and registered in a GIS to dynamically assist decisions. Lake Pontchartrain continues to be monitored. Long-term rehabilitation efforts will be predicated on water quality monitoring results. Lessons learned from a water quality perspective during this massive disaster are presented with the goal of assisting future recovery efforts. William Roper George Mason University Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering 4400 University Drive, Mail Stop 4A6 Fairfax , VA 22030 US Phone: 703 993 1648 E-mail: wroper@gmu.edu Kevin Weiss Office of Wastewater Management US Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW MC 4203M Washington , DC 20460 US Phone: 202 564 0742 E-mail: weiss.kevin@epa.gov James Wheeler Municipal Technology Branch US Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW MC 4204M Washington , DC 20460 US Phone: 202 564 0662 E-mail: wheeler.james@epa.gov |
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