Water Pollution Caused by Hurricane Katrina

Water Pollution Caused by Hurricane Katrina By: Clay Setser Evan Ross Travis Cox History of the Area Geology • La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded in 1718 by the French. • Until early in the twentieth century the city and surrounding areas that were populated were confined to small areas around natural levees and dams. • Then, Engineer and Inventor A. Baldwin Wood devised a drainage plan to enable people to live in the low lying areas around what is now the French Quarter. This allowed the small French Quarter to expand many miles, and as population began to rise it became the metropolis that it was before hurricane Katrina. Geology • The pump system invented then was the same basic system that was being used until Hurricane Katrina. Levees had also been built to border the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. • One small problem was that the areas that were now water free were below sea level and prone to flooding. The ground on which new houses and businesses were built was not stable, it was marshland. As years passed residents became aware that their homes and businesses were sinking. • This was a natural process that was taking place in the marshes before they built there, however, the humans were speeding up the process. Industry • The Seafood Industry in Biloxi: the seafood industry in Biloxi Mississippi has been a major part of the economy since 1848. Fishing boats capture a wide variety of shrimp and fish, which creates jobs for others to process and package the meat prior to its shipping. Obviously it relied on the gulf ports which were damaged by the storm. Industry • The Standard Oil Refinery (now owned by Exxon) that is today the largest in North America began operations in Louisiana in 1909, the same year construction started on the state's first longdistance oil pipeline. Since then, a huge and still-growing petrochemical industry has become a dominant force in the state's economy. Other expanding industries are wood products and, especially since World War II, shipbuilding. Industry • In 1997, the total value of shipments of manufactured goods was $81 billion. The principal industrial regions extend along the Mississippi River from north of Baton Rouge to New Orleans, and also include the Monroe, Shreveport, Morgan City, and Lake Charles areas. •Earnings of persons employed in Louisiana increased from $64 billion in 1997 to $67.7 billion in 1998, an increase of 5.8%. The largest industries in 1998 were services, 27.2% of earnings; state and local government, 13.1%; and retail trade, 9.4%. Immediate Problems Immediate Problems • Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. At least 1,836 people lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion (2005 U.S. dollars) in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history Immediate Problems • It was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the thirdstrongest hurricane on record that made landfall in the U.S.. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and caused devastation along much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States. Most notable in media coverage were the catastrophic effects on the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and in coastal Mississippi. Immediate Problems • Due to its sheer size, Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast as far as 100 miles (160 km) from the storm's center. Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain and several canals from New Orleans were breached by the surge, subsequently flooding 80% of the city and many areas of neighboring parishes for weeks. Severe wind damage was reported well inland. Pollution What was Polluted? • Many lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, and other bodies of water were contaminated throughout the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, particularly in large urban areas such as New Orleans. In addition to this, the water supplies of numerous cities throughout the Gulf Coast were contaminated with a wide variety of different pollutants. How Was It Polluted? • • • • • Oil Spills Sewage System Backups Drainage from Automobiles Leaks from Petrochemical Facilities Drainage from Landfills Oil Spills • Many oil refineries off the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were severely damaged, causing massive oil spills. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, approximately 5.4 million gallons of oil was spilled as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Sewage System Backups • Sewer systems in several cities throughout the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, were overwhelmed by excess water from storm surges and rain. This caused human waste, household chemicals, harmful forms of bacteria such as E. coli, etc. to backup into city buildings and streets. Drainage from Automobiles • Gasoline drainage from automobiles submerged in water polluted vast amounts of water in areas where automobiles were abandoned. Leaks from Petrochemical Facilities • Major drainage to petrochemical facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi caused the leakage of many harmful manmade chemicals into floodwaters. Drainage from Landfills • Drainage from landfills in Louisiana and Mississippi contaminated areas surrounding the landfills with large amounts of harmful, slowly degradable or non-degradable chemicals and waste. Cleanup Cleanup Plans • Local, state, and federal responders are facing numerous cleanup challenges and difficulties that have come as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Many of these challenges are unique due to the magnitude of destruction throughout Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, which is on a scale larger than any previously experienced by the United States in a single natural disaster event. Cleanup Plans • Some of the cleanup plans for the destruction and pollution caused by Hurricane Katrina include, Collecting and removing any and all hazardous wastes from soil and water supplies that may pose health problems to humans. Demolishing or gutting buildings and structures that have been contaminated with hazardous wastes. Disposal of debris by either placing them in landfills or burning them. Collecting debris and hazardous wastes fro recycling and reuse. Identifying any and all oil spill sites and removing the oil from them. Monitoring, sampling, and analyzing heavily polluted areas to reduce potential public health and environmental risks. Repairing and rebuilding severely damaged water and sewer systems. Purifying and treating water resources and supplies. Removing any non-receding floodwaters. • • • • • • • • Tada! • The End