Link to site: Matt Scallan, River Parishes bureau, April 01, 2006

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Highlights:
- progressively raise water rates for the biggest users, was one of seven options to pay for a proposed $25 million expansion project
- proposal would raise the rate for using 1,000 gallons of water from $2.22 to $4 for customers who use between 6,000 and 10,000 gallons per month and $4.30 for usage of more than 10,000 gallons per month. The first 6,000 gallons of water would remain at the current rate for all users.
- The proposed expansion would involve linking the east and west bank water plants, adding 6 million gallons per day of drinking water capacity on the east bank water plant, and 3 million gallons per day of capacity to the west bank plant, as well as building a new west bank storage tank.


The proposed water rate increase that the St. Charles Parish Council will consider on May 1 is designed to tread lightly on most water users and avoids funding mechanisms that would require voter approval.

The measure, which would progressively raise water rates for the biggest users, was one of seven options to pay for a proposed $25 million expansion project that engineer Rick Shread presented to the council at a special meeting Thursday.

The other measures would have either required the parish to seek voter approval for increased property taxes or required small water users to pay more.

The plan that the council is considering will be introduced in ordinance form at Monday's council meeting. It won't come to a vote until the council's May 1 meeting. That proposal would raise the rate for using 1,000 gallons of water from $2.22 to $4 for customers who use between 6,000 and 10,000 gallons per month and $4.30 for usage of more than 10,000 gallons per month. The first 6,000 gallons of water would remain at the current rate for all users.

Adoption of the plan would mean that 62 percent of the parish's 17,549 residential users would see no rate increase, according to Shread's firm, Shread-Kuyrkendall and Associates.

Currently, all users pay the $2.22 rate regardless of how much water they use, plus a $4-per-month service fee.

The proposed expansion would involve linking the east and west bank water plants, adding 6 million gallons per day of drinking water capacity on the east bank water plant, and 3 million gallons per day of capacity to the west bank plant, as well as building a new west bank storage tank.

To pay for the expansion, the system must generate about $3 million a year for the next 25 years, either by raising user fees or through property taxes.

Councilman Clayton "Snookie" Faucheux said St. Charles is the only parish in Louisiana where the water system isn't subsidized by property taxes. The parish levied a property tax until the east and west bank water systems merged in the late 1980s. Parish officials say the taxes went off the books in the mid-1990s, and the parish switched to a fee-based system, partly because of industry requests.

As they would under most of the options presented at Thursday's meeting, businesses would bear the brunt of the rate increase through taxes or higher user rates.

Lily Galland, chairwoman of St. Charles Industrial Council, said she could not comment on the specifics of the council plan, but said the parish's industrial taxpayers are willing to help.

"We want to work with the parish to ensure that the infrastructure meets the needs of its citizens," she said.

Ron Guillory, spokesman for the Valero St. Charles Parish Refinery in Norco, said the company won't comment on the proposal until it has a chance to study it, but noted that the refinery voluntarily reduced its water usage from about 60 million gallons per month to about 20 million after water supplies got tight after Hurricane Katrina.

The east bank system has been stretched to its production capacity and the main production unit cannot be turned off for needed repairs without causing a critical water shortage, parish officials say. Two smaller units produce water at a combined maximum rate of 3 million gallons per day, but their actual daily capacity is less.

Waterworks director Robert Brou said the main east bank unit could suffer a catastrophic failure at any time, leaving the east bank without enough water to meet its needs.

In addition, the west bank water system will begin facing its own capacity issues in the next few years as an expected 5,000 new homes are built in existing subdivisions.

"We're supposed to be the silent service, but people don't realize how much technology goes into a glass of water," Brou said.

Parish President Albert Laque's administration also proposes linking the two plants with a connection across the Mississippi River, building a million-gallon water storage tank on the west bank, and expanding that plant's daily capacity from 9 million gallons to 12 million gallons.

One of the options that Shread presented to the council would have involved asking voters to approve a 3.76-mill property tax, possibly in a July 15 referendum.

But Parish Council Chairman Brian Fabre said passing a property tax is no sure thing.

"It used to be that if you proposed a tax, everybody would vote for it because it would be on industry's back, but not since everybody got reappraised," he said, referring to the dramatic rise in property value that led to an increase in residential tax bills in 2004.

Shread noted that calling a referendum would be time-consuming and possibly could fail in a parishwide vote and delay the resolution to the most serious problem.

Other options that were considered include:

-- Raising rates to $3.45 per 1,000 gallons, which would mean a $7.38 monthly increase to a customer using 6,000 gallons.

-- Raising the monthly service fee from $4 to $16.77, an increase of $12.77 per month to all existing customers.

-- Raising the monthly service fee from $4 to $5 and the rate to $3.30 per 1,000 gallons. This would cost the user of 6,000 gallons of water an extra $7.48 per month.

-- Splitting the revenue stream by raising water rates to $2.84 per 1,000 gallons and levying a 1.96-mill property tax. This would raise the bill of a 6,000-gallon user by $3.72 per month, plus the property tax increase, which would total $9.80 per year for the owner of a homestead-exempt home assessed at $125,000. A business assessed at $500,000 would pay an additional $147 a year in property taxes.

. . . . . . .

Matt Scallan may be reached at mscallan@timespicayune.com or (985) 652-0953

Link to site: Hurricane Response 2005, updated 4/14/06

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Highlights:
- EPA has taken soil samples at potential temporary resident housing locations. They will be used to help FEMA determine the suitability of these locations for temporary housing for residents.
- EPA has a mission assignment to sample up to 25 sites for FEMA, and will continue to sample locations as requested.
• Chapperon Development Corporation Temporary Housing Location
• City Park Temporary Housing Location
• Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac Temporary Housing Location
• Corinne Baptist Church
• Fanz Mobile Estates Park
• Judge Perez Drive Temporary Housing Location
• Jumonville Temporary Housing Location
• Lattimore Temporary Housing Location
- SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFO

At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), EPA has taken soil samples at potential temporary resident housing locations. They will be used to help FEMA determine the suitability of these locations for temporary housing for residents.

EPA has a mission assignment to sample up to 25 sites for FEMA, and will continue to sample locations as requested.
• Chapperon Development Corporation Temporary Housing Location
• City Park Temporary Housing Location
• Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac Temporary Housing Location
• Corinne Baptist Church
• Fanz Mobile Estates Park
• Judge Perez Drive Temporary Housing Location
• Jumonville Temporary Housing Location
• Lattimore Temporary Housing Location

Chapperon Development Corporation Temporary Housing Location
On January 18, 2006, EPA collected 20 soil samples and three surface water samples at the Chapperon Development Property in Meraux, St. Bernard Parish. These soil samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site.

Low levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and metals were detected in a number of the soil samples collected. However, the concentrations of chemicals detected in the samples did not exceed Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) values.

Similarly, low levels of diesel range and oil range organic chemicals and metals were found in water samples collected in a creek adjacent to the property. None of the concentrations detected exceeded LDEQ drinking water standards, with the exception of thallium. Thallium levels in two samples (0.0082 and 0.0097 mg/L) exceeded the LDEQ RECAP value for drinking water of 0.002 mg/L. The water in the creek is not a source of drinking water. However, for the purposes of screening, the results of the water samples were compared to LDEQ RECAP values for drinking water.

City Park Temporary Housing Location
On January 22 and 23, 2006, EPA collected 40 soil samples at City Park in New Orleans. These samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site.

Low levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), diesel and oil range organic chemicals, pesticides and metals were detected in the samples. The levels of most of the chemicals detected fell below Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) standards for residential soil.

PAHs were detected in 34 of the 40 samples collected. Benzo(a)pyrene was detected in two samples at 973 ug/kg and 1,070 ug/kg. The RECAP value for benzo(a)pyrene is 330 ug/kg. Benzo(b)fluoranthene was detected in the same two samples at 1,710 ug/kg and 1,750 ug/kg. The RECAP value for benzo(b)fluoranthene is 620 ug/kg. Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene was detected in two samples at 678 ug/kg and 697 ug/kg. The RECAP value for indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene is 620 ug/kg. Although the levels of these PAHs exceed their respective RECAP values, these levels fall within a risk range, of 1 in 1,000,000 to 1 in 10,000 risk of an individual developing cancer over a lifetime from exposure to these concentrations, which EPA has found acceptable in other contexts.

Pesticides were detected in 19 of the 40 samples collected. Dieldrin was detected in two samples at 46.4 ug/kg and 76.8 ug/kg. The RECAP value for dieldrin is 30 ug/kg. Although these levels of dieldrin exceed their RECAP value, these levels fall within a risk range, of 1 in 1,000,000 to 1 in 10,000 risk of an individual developing cancer over a lifetime from exposure to these concentrations, which EPA has found acceptable in other contexts.

Arsenic was detected 37 of the 40 samples collected. In ten of the samples, arsenic was detected at levels above the RECAP value of 12 mg/kg. In two of the samples, the concentrations detected exceeded the EPA risk range. Arsenic was detected in one sample at 40 mg/kg and in a second sample at 67.5 mg/kg. Using long-term (i.e., 30 year) residential exposure assumptions, EPA estimates exposure to an arsenic concentration of 39 mg/kg may pose a 1 in 10,000 excess lifetime cancer risk.

Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac Temporary Housing Location

On February 18, 2006, EPA collected 4 sediment samples from the Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac, Terrebonne Parish. EPA has collected these sediment samples at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist FEMA in its determination as to the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site. At the Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church location there were no contaminants detected above Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) levels.

Corinne Baptist Church
On December 17, 2005, sediment samples were collected at the Corinne Baptist Church, in Violet, St. Bernard Parish. These sediment samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site. At the Corinne Baptist Church location there were no contaminants detected above Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) levels.

Fanz Mobile Estates Park
On December 15 and 16, 2005, sediment samples were collected at the Fanz Mobile Estates Park in Toca, St. Bernard Parish. These sediment samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for temporary housing. At the Fanz Mobile Estates Park there were no contaminants detected above Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) levels.

Judge Perez Drive Temporary Housing Location
On December 15, 2005, sediment samples were collected at a property on Judge Perez Drive in Violet, St. Bernard Parish. These sediment samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site. At the Judge Perez Drive location, lead was detected in one sample at 404 mg/kg. This level is slightly above the USEPA screening level and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) level of 400 mg/kg. Benzo(a)pyrene was detected in another sample at a concentration of 0.951 mg/kg. This concentration exceeds the RECAP level of 0.330 mg/kg, but falls within a risk range of 1 in 1,000,000 to 1 in 10,000 risk, of an individual developing cancer over a lifetime from exposure to those concentrations, which USEPA has found acceptable in other contexts.

Jumonville Temporary Housing Location
On January 24, 2006, EPA collected 6 soil samples at the Jumonville Temporary Housing location in Mereaux, St. Bernard Parish. These samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site.

Low levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), diesel and oil range organic chemicals, pesticides and metals were detected in the samples. None of the levels exceeded their respective Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) values.

Lattimore Temporary Housing Location
On January 20, 2006, EPA collected 7 soil samples at the Lattimore Temporary Housing location in Mereaux, St. Bernard Parish. These samples were collected at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine the suitability of this location for use as a temporary housing site.

Low levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), diesel and oil range organic chemicals, pesticides and metals were detected in the samples. None of the levels exceeded their respective Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) values.

Link to site: JOE GYAN JR., New Orleans bureau, 3/2/06

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Highlights:
- The city Sewerage & Water Board plans to begin delivering safe drinking water in two to three weeks, and FEMA contractors will be ready to hook up hundreds of trailers.
- The city’s Internet site says the Lower 9th’s sewerage system is inoperative, water is not potable, electric service is available to less than 25 percent of the area’s customers and gas service is available to only 3 percent.
- The Lower 9th has faced four major obstacles: electricity, drinkable water, debris removal and sewerage service.

NEW ORLEANS — In what she termed a “major breakthrough,” New Orleans City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis announced Wednesday that electricity, potable water and temporary trailers soon will be coming to parts of the Lower 9th Ward, much of which was ravaged by hurricanes Katrina’s and Rita’s flood waters.

Willard-Lewis, whose district includes the Lower 9th, said Entergy New Orleans is prepared to hook up electrical connections, the city Sewerage & Water Board plans to begin delivering safe drinking water in two to three weeks, and FEMA contractors will be ready to hook up hundreds of trailers.

Willard-Lewis said “thousands” of Lower 9th residents have expressed a desire to return to the neighborhood and 500 have requested trailers. The trailers can go on front lawns, side lawns or at group sites centered on churches, she said.

“We have a plan today. It focuses on the people’s right to return to the Lower 9th Ward,” Willard-Lewis, flanked by clergy and community leaders, said during a news conference at City Hall. There are 15,000 to 17,000 homes in the Lower 9th, she said.

The Lower 9th Ward, east of the Industrial Canal, was heavily damaged by the hurricanes when the canal levee breached during both storms. The entire Lower 9th is open only for what Mayor Ray Nagin calls “look and leave” visitation, meaning residents can return to see the extent of damage to their property and gather personal effects. Visitation hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city’s Internet site says the Lower 9th’s sewerage system is inoperative, water is not potable, electric service is available to less than 25 percent of the area’s customers and gas service is available to only 3 percent.

Entergy New Orleans spokeswoman Beth Raley, who attended the news conference, said a particularly hard-hit six-block area of the Lower 9th on the lake side of North Claiborne Avenue where a barge came through the levee breach will not have available electric service for the foreseeable future.

Overall, Raley said, roughly 95 percent of the city can take electricity when homes are safe to do so and 86 percent can take gas service when homes are ready for it. Last month alone, she said, Entergy connected more than 3,400 trailers across the city.

Willard-Lewis said the Lower 9th has faced four major obstacles: electricity, drinkable water, debris removal and sewerage service.

“We are busting through the obstacles,” she said, noting that the neighborhood is being cleaned up.

The Sewerage & Water Board, in conjunction with the state, hopes to test and certify the water from Derbigny Street south to the river in the next two to three weeks, Willard-Lewis said.

Reporters asked her if it is wise to try to move ahead in the Lower 9th when FEMA’s new flood maps have not been released and Nagin’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission has not issued its final report.

“We are focusing on the plan of the people,” she said. “We are not going to be sidetracked.”Willard-Lewis, who noted that too much of New Orleans, particularly the 9th Ward, resembles a “disaster zone,” said roadblocks and delays and excuses are no longer acceptable.

“We are building on the invitation to bring New Orleans back,” she said, adding that the rebuilding will be a “long-term process.”

Willard-Lewis, though, said the recovery has been “much too slow.”

“Get out of the way. Remove the roadblocks,” she said.

Bishop J.E. Daniels, a minister in the Lower 9th Ward, said members of his congregation who are scattered across the country in Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn., are “hurting” and “bleeding” but want to return home.

“We’re here to say that we’re coming back,” he said at the news conference. “We’re not going to stand on the sideline and wait. We’re going to stand firm and get our people back.”

As for the recovery, Daniels said, “I think we should have moved this process faster. I think they’re (government officials) dragging their feet.”

Rev. Errol Dyson, another Lower 9th minister, said he has been holding services in the Lower 9th for about a month.

“We have property here. This is our home. We don’t have to ask to come home. It’s our right,” he said. Dyson said his church on Forstall Street does not have electricity, but Holy Cross Middle School half a block away has power. Several trailers are hooked up in the Holy Cross area, he said.

Dyson said many Lower 9th residents feel their neighborhood has been placed at the “bottom of the totem pole.”

“It’s becoming offensive to many of those who want to come home,” he said.

Mary Fontenot, executive director of All Congregations Together, or ACT, spoke for the Lower 9th “homeowners who are homeless.” “Our No. 1 effort is to see our people back in their homes,” she said.

Link to Reference: Stephen Palkot, January 19, 2006

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Highlights:
- A manufacturing company that will be moving from Louisiana to Sugar Land this year will bring at least 100 jobs.
- Meco, had been located in New Orleans, but the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the breach of levies within the city wrought complete destruction on the company's manufacturing plant there.
- Manufacturing components used to purify water.

A manufacturing company that will be moving from Louisiana to Sugar Land this year will bring at least 100 jobs.

The company, Meco, had been located in New Orleans, but the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the breach of levies within the city wrought complete destruction on the company's manufacturing plant there.

This year, Meco will be building a light industrial plant at the Sugar Land Business Park, and 35 employees will be transferring with the company. Another 65 employees will be hired for the facility, which will be manufacturing components used to purify water.

The company's executive vice president and CFO, Reano Siragusa, appeared before Thursday's meeting of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, where he explained that his company's products are used largely by the pharmaceutical industry, the oil industry and the U.S. military.

Founded in the 1920's, the company became incorporated in the 1940's, and today is the North American leader of the industry, said Siragusa.

The pharmaceutical industry uses the company's products to process water that is used in IV injections as well as water that is used in medications.

The oil and gas industry uses the equipment on offshore rigs, in order to convert salt water to drinking water.

For the past three years, said Siragusa, the company has been working with the military to develop a light weight water purifer, which can be transported by two people and can purify just about any water in any condition.

The company will spend $13 million for its facilities, and may be hiring 100 more people in 2007, said Barkley Peschel of the EDC.

Link to Reference: Matt Scallan, River Parishes bureau, 1/6/06

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Highlights:
- Parish officials raised concerns last month about a possible drinking water shortage after usage rates increased significantly in October and November, typically low-use months, compared with the same time last year.
- Parish officials believe that the surge coincided with an influx of evacuees and temporary workers into the parish after Hurricane Katrina.
- Only about 500,000 gallons per day over last year compared to more than 1 million gallons over in October. It's slacking off

St. Charles Parish's east bank water capacity problems are starting to subside as water use dropped toward normal levels in December.

Parish officials raised concerns last month about a possible drinking water shortage after usage rates increased significantly in October and November, typically low-use months, compared with the same time last year.

Parish officials believe that the surge coincided with an influx of evacuees and temporary workers into the parish after Hurricane Katrina. The parish suffered relatively light damage from the storm and became a staging area for the recovery efforts in Orleans, St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes.

"We were up only about 500,000 gallons per day over last year compared to more than 1 million gallons over in October. It's slacking off," parish Water Department Director Robert Brou said Thursday.

Based on water use, Brou estimated that the parish's pre-Katrina population of 50,000 rose by as many as 20,000 people, with nearly 14,000 of those living on the east bank.

Parish officials came to that estimate by dividing the increase in water usage by 250, the number of gallons the average daily household consumes, and multiplying that figure by three, the number of people in the average St. Charles Parish household, according to the U.S. Census.

"The planning department tells me that a lot of the temporary workers that were here in October are gone now," Brou said.

The October water usage sucked up 89 percent of the east bank water treatment plant's 6.3 million-gallon per-day capacity, up from 70 percent in October 2004.

Water use declined slightly in November to 82 percent of its licensed capacity, and dropped to 72 percent of its capacity in December.

The parish's west bank plant, which has a capacity of 8.1 million gallons per day, saw much smaller increases after the storm, and operated at no more than 54 percent of capacity in the months after the storm. The two water systems are not connected and cannot share production.

Parish officials have cited the water capacity problem, as well as the potential to overload the school system, for their opposition to efforts to place two emergency trailer communities in St. Rose.

Parish planning officials say they have notified the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board, which made the first proposal to place about 200 trailers on land it owns in St. Rose for displaced employees, that there are sites available on the west bank. The New Orleans water board withdrew its zoning permit application after it was told that the parish's infrastructure could not support the request.

However, parish officials say there are no plans to stop issuing building permits for hundreds of homes now under construction on the east bank.

Parish President Albert Laque has said he hopes to build a new treatment plant to replace the half-century-old plant in Norco, which has been expanded several times during the years.

The parish also has the option of buying water from neighboring Jefferson Parish, which is producing only 59 percent of its 87 million gallon per day capacity.

Jefferson Parish Water Department Director Randy Schuler said any long-term sale of water to St. Charles would probably have to be approved by the Parish Council.

Link to Reference: YakimaHerald.com, 1/5/06

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Highlights:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency during hurricane relief efforts has taken another hit with news that a million of cans of drinking water donated for evacuees in shelters wound up being dumped into a sewer.
-
- Why not give what's not used to other people who would appreciate the gesture? One would think food banks and the like could find a way to pick it up. While the cans of water in this case were donated for hurricane disaster relief shelters, that doesn't mean they couldn't be passed on to others when that need no longer existed. The popularity of bottled water in supermarkets would indicate there should be plenty of takers.

The credibility of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during hurricane relief efforts has taken another hit with news that a million of cans of drinking water donated for evacuees in shelters wound up being dumped into a sewer.

Not only that, FEMA paid to have the unused water taken off its hands when it wasn't dispensed by the time evacuees from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina left shelters in Texas and Louisiana. The water came from various donors, including the Coca-Cola Co.

The Dallas Morning news reported that 18 truckloads of the 12-ounce cans, labeled "Filtered Drinking Water," wound up at a Lake June, Texas, scrap metal business where the water was drained and the flattened cans sent on for recycling. The disaster relief agency paid $250 a truckload to get rid of them.

A FEMA spokesman told the Dallas newspaper that while the agency is grateful for donations to disaster relief agency, when they're not used, the agency has to foot the bill for transportation and disposal.

Why not give what's not used to other people who would appreciate the gesture? One would think food banks and the like could find a way to pick it up. While the cans of water in this case were donated for hurricane disaster relief shelters, that doesn't mean they couldn't be passed on to others when that need no longer existed. The popularity of bottled water in supermarkets would indicate there should be plenty of takers.

What seems to be at play here is a bureaucratic mindset that too often ignores common sense and the human factor. It's reflected in the comment of a FEMA spokesman interviewed by the newspaper: "We didn't need it anymore."

It shouldn't have taken much effort to find those who did.

What a waste of humanitarian efforts by donors who just wanted to help.

Link to Reference:

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Highlights:
- One million cans of drinking water donated for hurricane relief have been emptied and recycled because the water was never used at Texas and Louisiana hurricane shelters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
- "We didn't need it anymore," Jacks said. In addition, expiration dates stamped on some of the 12-ounce, unpainted cans had expired
- Water doesn't spoil, but it can take on the taste of its container,

DALLAS - One million cans of drinking water donated for hurricane relief have been emptied and recycled because the water was never used at Texas and Louisiana hurricane shelters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
FEMA hauled the 400,000 liters of water, or 18 truckloads, to a scrap metal business in the Dallas area last month. The water was dumped into a sewer and the cans sent for recycling.

FEMA spokesman Don Jacks said the cans were given by Coca-Cola and other donors in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. After the evacuees left, the shelters gave the unused water to FEMA, which stored them at its Fort Worth regional distribution center. "We didn't need it anymore," Jacks said. In addition, expiration dates stamped on some of the 12-ounce, unpainted cans had expired, said Joe Perkins Jr., foreman of Lake June Scrap Metals.

Water doesn't spoil, but it can take on the taste of its container, said Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola. The company donated about 40 million drinks, mostly water, during the relief effort, he said.

FEMA is grateful for the donations, but they can be a mixed blessing because the agency must pay for transporting and disposing of leftover goods, Jacks said.

Crockett said Coca-Cola was pleased that most of the products it donated reached people who needed them.

Link to Reference: RICHARD BURGESS, Acadiana bureau, 12/17/05

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Highlights:
- Department of Environmental Quality has identified more than 500 water wells in an area being tested for oilfield waste contamination and plans to continue water sampling there through next year
- Private tests there have found soil and groundwater contamination believed to be related to oil-production waste.
- list of water wells registered with the state, but he said many residential wells don't appear in state records.

EVANGELINE -- The Department of Environmental Quality has identified more than 500 water wells in an area being tested for oilfield waste contamination and plans to continue water sampling there through next year, DEQ officials said Friday.

DEQ announced plans in October to begin testing ground water in the area of the Jennings Oil and Gas Field, where oil was first discovered in the state in 1901. The field is located a few miles northeast of Jennings near the community of Evangeline in Acadia Parish.

Private tests there have found soil and groundwater contamination believed to be related to oil-production waste.

"There are well over 500 wells in the area," said Lewis "Dutch" Donlon, a geologist supervisor with DEQ. Donlon said the agency has been working from a list of water wells registered with the state, but he said many residential wells don't appear in state records.

"You go out looking for five or 10 wells and find 20," he said.

Samples have been taken from 50 wells, and no contamination has been found in the 22 samples that have been analyzed so far, Donlon said.

The testing has been slowed because of the increased workload at DEQ labs in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he said.

"Our labs are really overburdened now," Donlon said.

He said testing will continue at a rate of about 10 wells a week and no determination has been made on the total number of wells to be tested.

DEQ is targeting water wells near abandoned earthen "pits," where oil- and gas-production waste had been stored for decades before the stricter environmental regulations ended the practice.

While the testing continues, the nearby Egan Water Corporation in Acadia Parish has plans to extend public water lines into the area, said Kirk Cormier, with the Egan water service.

Cormier said the new water line is expected to be completed sometime next year.

DEQ's attention focused on the Jennings Field after a private firm, Icon Environmental Services of Baton Rouge, found extensive soil and groundwater contamination linked to oilfield waste, including contamination in the upper levels of the Chicot Aquifer, according to Icon's report. The aquifer provides drinking water to most of the Acadiana area.

Icon conducted environmental testing for a group of landowners involved in a lawsuit seeking to force oil companies to clean up land that had been leased for oil and gas production.

Most of the contaminated soil and water samples noted by Icon came from "test pits" the company dug, not in the 19 drinking water wells sampled in the study, according to the report.

But Donlon said DEQ sought more-extensive tests on residential water wells since the Icon study looked at only a small percentage in the area.

He said DEQ may conduct more general environmental testing at the Jennings field in the future.

"We are keying in on the drinking water because that is a direct exposure route," he said. "We will go from there."

Link to Reference: Tracy Idell Hamilton, Express-News Staff Writer, 12/12/05

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Highlights:
- Open to 10 New Orleans ZIP codes, allowing residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina to return home for good, provided they're willing to live with iffy water supplies, gasoline shortages and toxic dirt.
- Water in Algiers and on the East Bank is safe for drinking, according to officials, while water east of there is not — and not even boiling will make it safe to drink.
- "It's a toxic waste dump out there," he said, and residents have no reassurance that the neighborhood will even be rebuilt. "Why would I put my family at risk? Why would I rebuild with no guarantee?"

The doors have been thrown open to 10 New Orleans ZIP codes, allowing residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina to return home for good, provided they're willing to live with iffy water supplies, gasoline shortages and toxic dirt.

The other seven ZIP codes that make up the city will be open for residents to "look and leave," the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported Friday. That means residents may return to their homes from dawn to dusk every day to inspect or repair, but must not spend the night.

The agency is still paying for one-way tickets to the city until Dec. 31.

Water in Algiers and on the East Bank is safe for drinking, according to officials, while water east of there is not — and not even boiling will make it safe to drink. Those who return are urged to get a tetanus shot, and to wash with antibacterial soap and bottled water if they come into contact with dirt or water "as soon as possible."

Those warnings anger Vince Wilson, a lifelong resident of the lower 9th Ward who said he would not be returning to rebuild his house of 38 years until he is reassured it is safe. His ZIP code is one of the seven "look-and-leave" areas.

"It's a toxic waste dump out there," he said, and residents have no reassurance that the neighborhood will even be rebuilt. "Why would I put my family at risk? Why would I rebuild with no guarantee?"

Wilson, who now lives in Houston, has become an activist for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

He spent Friday working the phones to bring other evacuees to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston today to protest Mayor Ray Nagin's "Bring New Orleans Back Commission," which has been on a six-city "town-hall" tour touting its plan to rebuild the city.

Wilson is openly skeptical of the commission and its plans, which call for rebuilding the least affected areas of the city first, while the hardest hit areas, he said, "haven't even had the topsoil turned yet."

Rumors that the city may abandon low-lying neighborhoods like the 9th Ward infuriates Wilson and other long-time residents of the city, residents whose suspicions of government were only confirmed by the evacuation debacle.

Another protest Saturday will be caravanning back to New Orleans, the Dallas Morning News reported Friday.

That protest is organized by longtime activist Malcolm Suber, who like Wilson believes blacks have been excluded from planning the city's reconstruction.

So far, only a fraction of former residents have returned to the hurricane and flood-ravaged city, most to high-ground neighborhoods like the Garden District.

As residents and planners wrangle about the future of the city, officials warn of the restrictions residents must live under if they plan to return.

Many homes remains uninhabitable, so families are encouraged to have back-up plans. Some medical facilities are up and running, but non-active elderly and those with special needs are being asked not to return.

For New Orleans residents still living in Texas hotels, FEMA announced Friday that it will be extending the deadline for moving people into apartments until Jan. 7.

Link to site: NSF asks UCF to quickly develop water purification system using nanoparticles to aid disaster victims

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

Highlights:
- developing coated nanoparticles and water purification systems, respectively, to propose a portable method for producing safe drinking water from any source.
- The key to the process is a naturally created nanoparticle that can kill bacteria that foul membranes used as filters to produce drinking water. In catastrophic situations such as Hurricane Katrina or the recent earthquake in Pakistan, the membranes become so fouled by bacteria that they become unusable for water treatment.
- hope to develop an adaptable method for producing quality water in any kind of emergency.

NSF asks UCF to quickly develop water purification system using nanoparticles to aid disaster victims
The National Science Foundation has asked two University of Central Florida researchers to quickly develop a unique water purification system to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

The professors were awarded a $10,000 startup grant from NSF this month as part of a rapid response program designed to support research that can directly benefit those affected by Katrina. The researchers will submit their research results to NSF in six months. The agency is also encouraging the scientists to connect the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies directly tied to disaster relief for immediate application of any useable technology.

Professors Sudipta Seal from the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering and James Taylor from Civil and Environmental Engineering combined their expertise in developing coated nanoparticles and water purification systems, respectively, to propose a portable method for producing safe drinking water from any source.

The key to the process is a naturally created nanoparticle that can kill bacteria that foul membranes used as filters to produce drinking water. In catastrophic situations such as Hurricane Katrina or the recent earthquake in Pakistan, the membranes become so fouled by bacteria that they become unusable for water treatment.

"By introducing nanoparticles into a mobile integrated membrane system, we can create potable water from a variety of sources," said Seal, who also works with the Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center.

Taylor, who has conducted water treatment research since 1975, said drinking water could be consistently produced even from wastewater if the fouling bacteria could be killed. Taylor is responsible for more than $10 million in project funding at UCF, including a major desalination effort for Tampa Bay Water and the American Water Works Association Research Foundation.

UCF was able to respond immediately to the need for a water purification system because of the quality research those scholars were already conducting, said M.J. Soileau, vice president for research. Seal and Taylor are part of a team that UCF is assembling to address alternative water sources for Florida, as water issues for the Central Florida region and the state are approaching crisis proportions.

With the seed funding, the researchers hope to develop an adaptable method for producing quality water in any kind of emergency.

Link to site: One of the most critically needed supplies on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina was safe drinking water.

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

Highlights:
- Jim Thebaut's Running Dry argues that a shortage of water -- not oil -- looms as the next major crisis.
- The earth's 6 billion people are living on 1 percent of the earth's water.
- ou can't look at poverty without the water crisis, the ecological crisis

BY GEORGIA TASKER, gtasker@herald.com, The Miami Herald,10/17/05
One of the most critically needed supplies on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina was safe drinking water.

Imagine, then, that 1.5 billion people worldwide are facing that same need on a daily basis, not just following a natural disaster. Every day, 14,000 people, 9,000 of them children, die because of lack of water or disease from water pollution. Every 15 seconds a child dies from diarrhea caused by contaminated water.

A powerful 90-minute video called Running Dry by Jim Thebaut documents at this ''global humanitarian crisis'' of staggering proportions. It will be shown Tuesday at the University of Miami.
Jim Thebaut's Running Dry argues that a shortage of water -- not oil -- looms as the next major crisis.

Narrated by actress Jane Seymour, the documentary looks at South Asia, China, India, Africa and even the southwestern United States, where droughts and development are expanding deserts, draining wells and rivers.

The earth's 6 billion people are living on 1 percent of the earth's water. The remainder of the planet's water is saltwater or locked up in icebergs. As human numbers have exploded, water -- not oil -- looms as the most endangered of life-supports.

Thebaut will lead a discussion after the screening of his film, which predicts that in another 15 years, 76 million people could die from polluted water. Born in Berkeley, Calif., Thebaut has degrees in landscape architecture and worked for years as an environmental consultant. His first films were about toxic waste and the importance of landscape planning. Then he read the book Tapping Out by the late Sen. Paul Simon, contacted the Wisconsin senator and launched into the water project.

The United Nations's millennium campaign to reduce poverty and child mortality, called No Excuse 2015, means ''you can't look at poverty without the water crisis, the ecological crisis,'' Thebaut said in a phone interview from the Netherlands last week. ``Our goal is to educate the world to the crisis.''

Many people see the film and 'come up to me and say `I had no idea this was going on,' '' he said.

His immediate goal is to motivate people to change their behavior ''and to look at water as the precious commodity it is,'' he said, ``so that in our personal lives we start to implement conservation programs.''

In the United States, where clean water is taken for granted, a water crisis looms because of overuse and misuse. In the desert city of Las Vegas, for instance, 5,000 new residences are being built every month. Swimming pools and irrigated lawns may become artifacts of a profligate way of life.

South Floridians use an average of 170 gallons every day, far above the national average of 100 gallons per capita. Even the national average is 15 times that available to people in developing countries.

More than a decade ago, the South Florida Water Management District began promoting water conservation through landscape irrigation regulations, reduced-water shower heads and toilets, water conserving landscaping. The aquifer that provides drinking water also provides agricultural water and the Everglades ecosystem water. As people move into the state, competition for that water increases. This year, the state legislature has given the water management district funding to look at alternative water supplies.

For developing countries, even contaminated water is useful. In India, only a third of the 6 million residents get water delivered daily. The rest receive allotments every other day. In South Asia, with one-fifth of the world's population and half of the world's poor, 337 million people are without safe water and 830 million people are without rudimentary sanitation. Sewage runs freely in ditches and rivers.

During the 1950s, the former Soviet Union drained water for cotton crops from the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth largest inland sea. Now half its original size, the Aral counts 24 species of its fish extinct.

In the Shaanxi Province of China, home of Xian and the famous underground terra cotta army, tens of thousands of people are affected by a water-borne disease that results in bowed legs, disfigurement and discolored teeth.

Running Dry is being shown around the country as an educational film sponsored by The Chronicles Group, a nonprofit organization. UM's Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy is sponsoring the Cosford Cinema showing. The film was funded by the American Water Co.

Link to site: safe drinking water has been restored to New Orleans' east bank, west of the Industrial Canal.

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

Highlights:
- the official regulatory agency for the state of Louisiana, certified the water quality
- safe water use on the West Bank following Hurricane Katrina.
Source: Mayor's Office
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor C. Ray Nagin today announced that safe drinking water has been restored to New Orleans' east bank, west of the Industrial Canal.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the official regulatory agency for the state of Louisiana, certified the water quality, the Mayor's Office said in a release.

This complements the safe water use on the West Bank following Hurricane Katrina. Today's news of safe water use is a strong push for the Mayor's vision to bring New Orleans back.

Link to site: Residents will have to put up with a green or brown tint to their tap water for about another week.

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

Highlights:
- it might not look appetizing, the water is safe to drink,
- The discoloration is caused by the increased tannic acid
- they were flushing the system because of the discolored water.

JEFFREY ZERINGUE, Staff Writer Daily Comet
THIBODAUX -- Residents will have to put up with a green or brown tint to their tap water for about another week.
Although it might not look appetizing, the water is safe to drink, Thibodaux Public Works Director Kermit Kraemer said Friday.

The discoloration is caused by the increased tannic acid in Bayou Lafourche from leaf debris, a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he said.

"If you’ve noticed, the water in the bayou is stained," Kraemer said.

Storm debris storm gets into the drainage systems, which flow into Bayou Lafourche, he said. The water gets discolored from the leaves and is taken in for normal processing.

"We cannot get all of the color out of the water in our normal clarification and filtration process," Kramer said.

The discoloration is most noticeable in North Thibodaux, which is from where most of the more-than-60 calls to the water plant have come, because it is so close to the water plant.

One caller, Gail Keller of North 11th Street, said the discoloration cannot be seen if water is running and draining right away, such as when washing hands. But when she filled her tub Wednesday, it was noticeable.

"I said, ëWhat is that in our water?’ " Keller said. "We’ve been through storms. We’ve been through rain. ... We’ve never seen this before."

Keller said she was concerned about the green water because of health reasons.

"As I filled my white kitchen sink, it was green," said North Sixth Street resident Gwen Adams.

She said city chemist Joe Van Mark tested the discolored water at her home, said it was not a health problem and was OK to drink.

She also said city officials told her they were flushing the system because of the discolored water.

"To me, I don’t know if that was precautionary or a systemwide problem," Adams said.

The system is being flushed to try to move the water through the system faster and dilute the tinted water with water already in the city’s towers, Kraemer said.

"It gets diluted the farther it gets from the plant," Kraemer said.

The public-works director said that because the water is still within EPA guidelines for drinkable water, the city does not have to report it to the federal agency.

"I can’t tell you what it tastes like because I’m not drinking it," said Brian Bergeron, North 13th Street resident.

Kraemer said it would take about a week for the Mississippi River water to dilute the water drained into Bayou Lafourche, which will clear the water. In the meantime, the city will add a little more chlorine and add activated charcoal to the process, which could help a little, he said.

Link to site: Facilities that provide 2.3 million people with drinking water and that treat wastewater for 1.8 million people are still inoperable

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

Highlights:
- 20 percent of drinking water systems and 10 percent of wastewater facilities remain out of commission.
- "It's not the sexiest hearing, but I think it's one of the most important hearings," said Committee Chair Joe Barton, R-Texas.
- "We don't need someone to tell us we must comply, but rather we need the help and know-how to fix the problem."


Brian P. Nanos, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.
Sep. 30--WASHINGTON -- One month after Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that facilities that provide 2.3 million people with drinking water and that treat wastewater for 1.8 million people are still inoperable, a top EPA official said Thursday.

Marcus Peacock told a House subcommittee investigating the environmental impacts of the hurricane that about 20 percent of drinking water systems and 10 percent of wastewater facilities remain out of commission. He said the EPA has placed mobile labs in Mississippi and Louisiana to provide water testing.

"It's not the sexiest hearing, but I think it's one of the most important hearings," said Committee Chair Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre submitted written testimony with Pontotoc Mayor William Rutledge, but did not appear before the committee.

Testifying via teleconference on behalf of the National Rural Water Association, Rutledge cited Bay St. Louis as an example of the effects Katrina had on Coast communities.

Rutledge said the water system in Bay St. Louis is back up and working. However, local city officials are still telling people to boil their drinking water because they believe the system to be fragile and prone to leaks, he said.

Rutledge called on the committee to get Congress to provide technical assistance and equipment. He said environmental regulation would be neither required nor appropriate.

"Communities know the water is not safe long before it is declared not in compliance, and no one wants to restore safe water more than the local officials," he said. "We don't need someone to tell us we must comply, but rather we need the help and know-how to fix the problem."

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

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

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

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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: 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: Katrina water sampling is a high priority

Return to: watercenter.org

News Release - September 11, 2005
Water sampling is a high priority in EPA's response to Hurricane Katrina.  EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (http://www.deq.state.la.us/) have posted the results of the first rounds of sampling.  The data has been reviewed and validated through a quality assurance process to ensure scientific accuracy.  

To view the test results, visit http://www.epa.gov/katrina/testresults/index.html.  EPA and LDEQ continue to conduct flood water sampling for chemical and biological testing in Lake Pontchartrain and the greater New Orleans area.

EPA and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/) continue to assess drinking water systems.  More than 36 percent of drinking water systems are now operational.  More than 12 percent of drinking water systems are operational with boil water advisories.  

Responders are assessing the area's wastewater facilities.  More than 79 percent of major municipal wastewater facilities are operational.  More than 15 percent of major industrial wastewater facilities are operational.  More than 43 percent of minor municipal facilities are operational.

Sediment was sampled at 21 locations in Jefferson Parish yesterday and will continue today in the New Orleans area.

EPA and state officials are assessing the quantity of housing structures, cars and boats that are currently submerged in flood water and will require disposal.  Contaminants of concern include lead-based paint, asbestos, household wastes and petroleum products.

EPA and CDC are working together to identify potential hazards that workers may be exposed to in the flood area.

LDEQ is monitoring ambient air quality using summa canisters.  An EPA Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) unit will be in the field conducting real-time screening information in accordance with standard operations.

DOE and LDEQ conducted fly-overs looking for sources of radiation, such as universities and hospitals, as identified by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

EPA's joint field operations with state officials are ongoing.  The EPA and State of Louisiana Joint Incident Management Team is operating 24 hours a day at the emergency center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Link to site: EPA continues assessment of to help restore service in AL, MS, and LA.

Return to: watercenter.org

EPA
At a news conference with CDC on 9/7, Administrator Johnson released initial sampling results of New Orleans flood waters from six locations. Preliminary information indicates that counts for E. Coli in sampled areas greatly exceed EPA's recommended levels for contact. Also lead concentrations exceeded drinking water action levels, which would be a concern if the flood water was a child's source of drinking water. Given these preliminary results, emergency response personnel and the public should avoid direct contact with standing water when possible. Collection of flood water samples began 9/3 in downtown New Orleans . Samples were shipped to a Houston lab and a local lab in Lafayette, LA for analysis. Daily sampling is ongoing.

Recovery – EPA search and rescue operations continue. Food and water were distributed and an additional 5 people were rescued. Approximately, 775 rescues have been made by EPA in LA. Sixty EPA water craft are currently available for rescue efforts.

Public Advisories – On 9/6, EPA and HHS issued an advisory cautioning the public and all responders about the possible hazards of flood waters due to potentially elevated levels of contamination associated with raw sewage and other hazardous materials. On 9/4, EPA issued an advisory to the public urging caution when disposing of household hazardous waste and asbestos-containing debris from storm-damaged homes and other buildings.

Water Assessment – EPA estimates the number of water systems affected by the hurricane is now 73 in AL, 555 in MS and 469 in LA. In AL, many water systems were disabled or impaired by loss of electrical power. Five systems in AL currently have boil water advisories. EPA continues its assessment of damage to local drinking water systems in MS, and provides technical assistance to help restore safe drinking water to those systems. EPA sent two mobile laboratories to MS to assist the state Department of Public Health in drinking water analysis. The labs are expected to be operational on September 8, 2005 . Boil water notices have been issued to 404 water systems in MS. Samples from these systems will be analyzed for total fecal coliform bacteria before the systems restore service. EPA is assisting the LA Department of Health and Hospitals in assessing drinking water and will deploy 35 more EPA personnel to LA during this week. There are approximately 378 drinking water systems that are not in operation in LA with another 48 systems on a boil water notice. In LA, one EPA mobile lab is currently testing drinking water samples and providing analytical data. An additional mobile lab is expected to arrive this week in LA.

Wastewater Treatment Facilities – EPA continues to assess wastewater treatment facilities in LA, MS and AL. EPA estimates the number of wastewater treatment facilities affected is now 13 in AL, 114 in LA and 45 in MS.

Air Surveillance - EPA's environmental surveillance aircraft (ASPECT) is being used to assess spills and chemical releases. On 9/4, a large oil spill was surveyed in Chalmette, LA (Murphy Oil). A 250,000 barrel tank containing 85,000 barrels of oil released beyond secondary containment and extended into a residential area. The company and its contractors are working with EPA and the Coast Guard to repair the storage tank, contain the oil and begin cleanup. EPA and state officials continue to collect air quality information from daily aerial helicopter inspections of facilities. On-the-ground inspections of these facilities will provide additional information in the coming weeks. Air assessments of spills and chemicals releases in New Orleans and surrounding area continue.

Incident Management Team (IMT) – On 9/2 EPA deployed a 17 person Incident Management Team (IMT) to Baton Rouge to integrate with LA officials and manage EPA's field operations. On 9/6, EPA personnel staffing of a second full IMT began mobilization to LA.

Peer Support & Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team – EPA has deployed CISM team members to Baton Rouge, LA and will deploy two CISM Team members to Jackson, MS on 9/7 to consult with all EPA staff conducting field operations in areas impacted by the hurricane.

Hazardous Waste Disposal - EPA personnel continue to offer technical assistance in the disposal of hazardous waste and other debris left behind by the storm. Teams are working closely with the Coast Guard to conduct assessments of potential oil spills and chemical releases caused by the hurricane.

Technical Expertise – EPA will be assessing environmentally safe clearance standards for residences and commercial buildings. EPA has practical and scientific expertise in the environmental health hazards caused by flood waters, especially the effects of molds and mildew, and in the disposal of household hazardous waste and asbestos-containing materials from storm-damaged buildings.

Emergency Call Center – EPA expects to deploy 30-50 personnel from the Region 5 (Chicago) office to assist staffing of the FEMA Emergency Call Center that will register people who are applying for federal assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The call center is anticipated to be operational on September 8th.

Link to site: Preliminary water sampling assess 684 drinking water systems.

Return to: watercenter.org

Water sampling is a high priority in EPA's response to Hurricane Katrina.  EPA and the Centers for Disease Control released preliminary water sampling results yesterday (http://www.epa.gov/katrina/activities.html#sep7response) and continue to conduct flood water sampling for chemical and biological testing in and around the New Orleans area.

EPA and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/) are working to assess 684 drinking water systems.  About 127 systems are producing drinking water and are no longer on boil water notices. EPA deployed more than 30 drinking water specialists from Dallas to Louisiana on Wednesday morning to assist in restoring safe drinking water to the affected communities.

EPA's joint field operations with state officials are ongoing.  EPA and the State of Louisiana Joint Incident Management Team is operating 24 hours a day at the emergency center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

EPA is coordinating with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (http://www.deq.state.la.us/) to prepare a sediment sampling plan that will include characterization for disposal and worker exposure.

Eight teams of responders from state and federal agencies are coordinating disposal of household hazardous waste for the southern Louisiana parishes.

The ASPECT aircraft continues to conduct over-flights of several large industrial facilities in the area and inspect for oil and chemical spills.  The ASPECT aircraft identified one fire over a railyard, which detected combustion products but did not detect elevated airborne concentration of hazardous pollutants.

Link to site: CDC - Water may not be safe to drink, clean with, or bathe in

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Water may not be safe to drink, clean with, or bathe in after an emergency such as a hurricane or flood. During and after a disaster, water can become contaminated with microorganisms, such as bacteria, sewage, agricultural or industrial waste, chemicals, and other substances that can cause illness or death. This fact sheet offers the following guidance to help you make sure water is safe to use:

* Listen to and follow public announcements. Local authorities will tell you if tap water is safe to drink or to use for cooking or bathing. If the water is not safe to use, follow local instructions to use bottled water or to boil or disinfect water for cooking, cleaning, or bathing.
* Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water for drinking (however, see guidance in the Food section for infants), cooking or preparing food, washing dishes, cleaning, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, making ice, and bathing until your water supply is tested and found safe. If your water supply is limited, you can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer for washing your hands.
* If you use bottled water, be sure it came from a safe source. If you do not know that the water came from a safe source, you should boil or treat it before you use it.
* Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms. Boiling will not remove chemical contaminants. If you suspect or are informed that water is contaminated with chemicals, seek another source of water, such as bottled water.
* If you can't boil water, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite). If you use chlorine tablets or iodine tablets, follow the directions that come with the tablets. If you use household chlorine bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (~0.75 milliliter [mL]) of bleach per gallon of water if the water is clear. For cloudy water, add 1/4 teaspoon (~1.50 mL) of bleach per gallon. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it. Treating water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or liquid bleach will not kill many parasitic organisms. Boiling is the best way to kill these organisms.
* Do not rely on water disinfection methods or devices that have not been recommended or approved by local health authorities. Contact your local health department for advice about water treatment products that are being advertised.
* Use water storage tanks and other types of containers with caution. For example, fire truck storage tanks and previously used cans or bottles may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. Water containers should be thoroughly cleaned, then rinsed with a bleach solution before use.
o Clean surfaces thoroughly with soap and water, then rinse.
o For gallon- or liter-sized containers, add approximately 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) household bleach (5.25%) with 1 cup (240 mL) water to make a bleach solution.
o Cover the container and agitate the bleach solution thoroughly, allowing it to contact all inside surfaces. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes, then rinse with potable water.
* Flooded, private water wells will need to be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede. If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice. See Disinfecting Wells After an Emergency for general instructions.
* Practice basic hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and bottled water or water that has been boiled or disinfected. Wash your hands before preparing food or eating, after toilet use, after participating in clean-up activities, and after handling articles contaminated with floodwater or sewage. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands if you have a limited supply of clean water.

Link to site: CDC suggests Disinfect Water Wells

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If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department for specific advice. If you do not get your water from a well, see Keep Food and Water Safe for information on disinfecting your water.

IMPORTANT: Fuel and other chemical releases and spills are common during flood events. If your water smells like fuel or has a chemical odor, contact your local or state health department to request a chemical analysis of your water before using it. Until you know the water is safe, use bottled water or some other safe supply of water.

Safety Precautions

You will need to clear hazards away from wells before cleaning and disinfecting wells after floods and other natural disasters. The following precautions will help you do that safely:

1. Before beginning any action, carefully inspect the area around the well for electrical and physical hazards. Those may include broken power lines on the ground or in the water; sharp metal, glass, or wood debris; open holes; and slippery conditions.
2. Wear thick rubber-soled shoes or boots to protect against electrical shock.
3. Turn off all power to the well area before clearing debris. Inspect all electrical connections for breaks in insulation and for moisture. Turn power back on only if all connections appear unbroken and dry with no opportunity for shock.
4. Do not turn on any electrical equipment if there is a persistent smell of fuel such as gasoline coming from the well head. Allow the well to vent. If the smell persists, contact your local or state health department. Do not continue with disinfection of the well until the contamination in the well has been removed
5. Before beginning work on the well, clear debris away from it to avoid inadvertently moving debris into the well.
6. When clearing debris from large-diameter wells (36 inches [approximately 90 centimeters (cm)] or greater), use grappling hooks, nets, and long-handled scoops to remove debris. Do not enter the well pit. Gases and vapors can build up in well pits, creating a hazardous environment.


Follow these additional precautions as you prepare to disinfect the wells:

* Chlorine solutions can cause chemical burns. Use rubber gloves, protective eye wear, and waterproof aprons or rain gear when working with chlorine solutions.
* When mixing and handling chlorine solutions, work in well ventilated areas and avoid breathing vapors. When working in closed spaces, use electrical fans to provide fresh air.
* Warn users not to drink or bathe in water until all the well disinfection steps have been completed and the well has been thoroughly flushed.

Here are some general instructions for disinfecting wells that may have become contaminated by harmful microorganisms in floods or other natural disasters.

Steps to Disinfect Drilled, Bored, or Dug Wells

Chlorination is a process of flushing your well water system with a chlorine solution to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. This process is recommended after floods and when a well has tested positive for bacteria. It is an effective method to eliminate germ contamination, but if problems exist with faulty well construction or groundwater contamination, chlorination is only a temporary solution. If contamination persists, further investigation may be needed to determine the problem.

The disinfection process can take from a few hours to a few days to complete. Make sure you store enough water to meet your household needs before you start this process.

Read the safety precaution section before starting the disinfection procedure.
Disinfection Procedure

Step 1.

Scrub or hose off foreign material from the well curbing or casing. If the well cover was not properly sealed and flooding has occurred, sand and silt may have deposited in the well, requiring more cleaning.

Drilled and bored wells: Remove the well cover and thoroughly clean the well to remove all debris. Special tools or pumps may be required to remove silt and sand. Heavy deposits of silt and sand may damage well pumps if not removed before the pump is started. If sand and silt are present, remove the pump and clean it thoroughly before using.

Dug wells: Remove the well cover and thoroughly clean the well to remove all floating debris. If the well is lined, scrub the sides of the well with a brush and a strong solution of chlorine and water. Empty polluted water and debris from the well using buckets or pumps. If sand and silt are present, remove the pump and clean it thoroughly before using. Rinse well walls by pouring water along the edges. Empty polluted rinse water from the well again, then allow it to refill.

Caution: In areas without electrical power, a portable generator may be needed to operate pumps and equipment. Read the safety instructions before turning on a generator, pumps, or any electrical equipment.

Step 2.

Pump or bail water out of the well until the water is clear. If you have a low-yield well, empty at a slower rate. If available, use outside faucets to drain water from the well. Do not pump contaminated water into any existing pressure tank. Instead, disconnect piping between the pressure tank and pump to allow contaminated water to flow away from the well and tank.

Step 3.

Using the table below, calculate the amount of bleach granules or unscented liquid to use. To determine the exact amount, find the corresponding well diameter in the left column. Then match the amount of bleach needed for the amount of time the concentration will remain in the well. Multiply the amount of bleach needed by every 10 feet of water in the well.

For example, a well 8 inches in diameter requires 3½ fluid ounces of unscented bleach (for a retention time of 8 hours at 50 parts per million [ppm]) per 10 feet of water. If the water in the well is 30 feet deep, multiply 3½ fluid ounces by 3 to determine the amount of bleach required (3½ x 3 = 11.5 fluid ounces). In a clean bucket, add this total amount of bleach to about 5 gallons of water (or mix this in 5 gallons of water).

If you are unsure about the depth of your well, check the well head and casing to see if a tag indicates the well depth. If a tag is not available, contact neighbors to see if they know the depths of their wells. Well depths are usually similar in neighborhoods. If you are still unable to determine the depth of your well, make your best educated guess, then increase the suggested amounts of chlorine by 50%.

Système International d'Unités (metric): A well 20.0 cm (8 inches) in diameter requires roughly 103.5 milliliters (mL) of unscented bleach per 3 meters of water. If the water in the well is approximately 9.1 meters deep, multiply 103.5 mL by 3 to determine the amount of bleach required (103.5 x 3 = 310.5 mL). In a clean bucket, add this total amount of bleach to about 19 liters of water.

Step 4.

Pour the chlorine solution in the well in a circular pattern to ensure contact with all sides of the casing or lining of the well. If bored and dugs wells have no casing or lining, pour the solution down the center of the well hole. If possible, recirculate the water by connecting a garden hose to an outside faucet and place the other end in the well. Allow water to run for approximately 15 minutes to ensure the chlorine solution is mixed in the well.

Step 5.

For wells connected to a plumbing system, open all inside and outside faucets and pump water until you notice a strong odor of chlorine at each faucet. If you do not smell chlorine after running all faucets for 15 minutes, increase the amount of chlorine by one-half of the original amount used and repeat the procedures.

Stop the pump and allow the chlorine solution to remain in the well and plumbing system. Refer to the table in the “Sampling After Disinfection” section to match amounts of chlorine solution and disinfection times. It is preferable for the solution to remain in the well for 8 hours or overnight, if possible. Do not leave chlorine in wells more than 24 hours because it may affect some pump parts.

Step 6.

After the disinfectant has set in the well for the recommended period, turn on the pump, attach a hose to an outside faucet, and direct the water to a designated area away from the well. The water in the well contains high concentrations of chlorine that can be harmful to plants, septic tanks, and streams. Empty the water in an area where plants or streams will not be harmed. Continue running the water until the chlorine odor disappears, then drain the remainder of bleach in the plumbing system from the inside faucets. With low-yield wells, empty plumbing at a slower rate to avoid over pumping. Some wells may require that you stop for periods to allow the well to refill. Depending on the depth and size of the well, this process may take hours to a day or longer.

Water from wells with no plumbing system can simply be pumped or removed in buckets until the chlorine odor disappears.

More... Disinfect water wells

Link to site: EPA - Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water

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EPA
In times of extreme crisis, local health departments may urge consumers to use more caution or to follow additional measures. If local public health department information differs from this advice, the local information should prevail.

When the home water supply is interrupted by natural or other forms of disaster, you can obtain limited amounts of water by draining your hot water tank or melting ice cubes. In most cases, well water is the preferred source of drinking water. If it is not available and river or lake water must be used, avoid sources containing floating material and water with a dark color or an odor.

When emergency disinfection is necessary, examine the physical condition of the water. Disinfectants are less effective in cloudy water. Filter murky or colored water through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clean water for disinfection. Water prepared for disinfection should be stored only in clean, tightly covered, containers, not subject to corrosion.

There are two general methods by which small quantities of water can be effectively disinfected. One method is boiling. It is the most positive method by which water can be made bacterially safe to drink. Another method is chemical treatment. If applied with care, certain chemicals will make most water free from harmful or pathogenic organisms.

METHODS OF EMERGENCY DISINFECTION

Boiling: Vigorous boiling for one minute will kill any disease-causing microorganisms present in water (at altitudes above one mile, boil for three minutes). The flat taste of boiled water can be improved by pouring it back and forth from one container to another (called aeration), by allowing it to stand for a few hours, or by adding a small pinch of salt for each quart of water boiled.

Chemical treatment: When boiling is not practical, chemical disinfection should be used. The two chemicals commonly used are chlorine and iodine. Chlorine and iodine are somewhat effective in protecting against exposure to Giardia, but may not be effective in controlling Cryptosporidium. Therefore, use iodine or chlorine only to disinfect well water (as opposed to surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, and springs), because well water is unlikely to contain these disease causing organisms. Chlorine is generally more effective than iodine in controlling Giardia, and both disinfectants work much better in warmer water.

CHLORINE METHODS

Chlorine Bleach: When boiling is not practical, chemical disinfection should be used. Common household bleach contains a chlorine compound that will disinfect water. The procedure to be followed is usually written on the label. When the necessary procedure is not given, find the percentage of available chlorine on the label and use the information in the following tabulation as a guide.
      Available Chlorine       Drops per Quart of Clear Water
            1%                               10

            4-6%                            2

            7-10%                         1


(If strength is unknown, add ten drops per quart of water. Double amount of chlorine for cloudy or colored water or water that is extremely cold.)

The treated water should be mixed thoroughly and allowed to stand, preferably covered, for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight chlorine odor; if not, repeat the dosage and allow the water to stand for an additional 15 minutes. If the treated water has too strong a chlorine taste, it can be made more pleasing by allowing the water to stand exposed to the air for a few hours or by pouring it from one clean container to another several times.

Granular Calcium Hypochlorite. Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. The mixture will produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 mg/L, since the calcium hypochlorite has an available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight. To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine solution to each 100 parts of water to be treated. This is roughly equal to adding 1 pint (16 oz.) of stock chlorine to each 12.5 gallons of water to be disinfected. To remove any objectionable chlorine odor, aerate the water as described above.

Chlorine Tablets.Chlorine tablets containing the necessary dosage for drinking water disinfection can be purchased in a commercially prepared form. These tablets are available from drug and sporting goods stores and should be used as stated in the instructions. When instructions are not available, use one tablet for each quart of water to be purified.

TINCTURE OF IODINE

Common household iodine from the medicine chest or first aid kit may be used to disinfect water. Add five drops of 2 percent United States Pharmacopeia (U.S.P.) Tincture of iodine to each quart of clear water. For cloudy water add ten drops and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes.

IODINE TABLETS

Commercially prepared iodine tablets containing the necessary dosage for drinking water disinfection can be purchased at drug and sporting goods stores. They should be used as stated. When instructions are not available, use one tablet for each quart of water to be purified.

WATER TO BE USED FOR DRINKING, COOKING, MAKING ANY PREPARED DRINK, OR BRUSHING THE TEETH SHOULD BE PROPERLY DISINFECTED.

Link to site: Drinking Water Storage

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Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day in a cool, dark place.

The average individual must drink at least two quarts of water every day. Children, nursing mothers, the elderly and people in warmer climates need more. Additional water should be reserved for personal hygiene and food preparation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security encourages individuals to store enough water to last a minimum of three days - bearing in mind that water is needed for drinking as well as for personal hygiene. Water should be collected on days when it appears free of sediment or color. On certain days, particularly after a hard rain or heavy snowmelt, some tap water may have a brownish color and contain sediment.

Choose appropriate containers for water storage; disinfect before use.

Clear food-grade plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles, are ideal. Other options include fiberglass or enamel-lined metal containers. Never use a container that has previously held toxic substances. Containers for water should be rinsed with a diluted chlorine bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water) before use.  

If necessary, treat water with a chlorine bleach solution prior to storage to prevent buildup of harmful bacteria or pathogens. Replace water every six months.

If your water is treated commercially by a water utility, it is not necessary to treat water before storing it. If you have a well or public water that has not been treated, disinfect the water prior to storage using liquid household bleach containing 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented or color-safe bleaches or bleaches containing soaps. The American Red Cross and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency recommend the following procedure for treating water for storage:

* Add six drops (1/8 teaspoon) of unscented bleach per gallon of water.
* Stir and let stand for 30 minutes.
* If the water does not taste and smell of chlorine after 30 minutes, add another dose of 1/8 teaspoon and let stand another 15 minutes.
* Seal the containers and label with contents and date of preparation.

Identify additional sources of water.

In addition to stored water, other sources include melted ice cubes, water drained from the water heater faucet (if the water heater has not been damaged), water dipped from the flush tanks (not the bowls) of home toilets, and liquids from canned goods such as fruit and vegetable juices. Unsafe water sources include radiators, hot water boilers, waterbeds, and swimming pools and spas.

These tips are based on information provided by emergency preparedness experts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

Link to site: Alertnet.org - the News

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Reuters Sept 5
WASHINGTON Some 1,223 drinking water systems in three states have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, and some systems need more fuel to run generators to stay operating, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday.

The agency has issued boil-water notices to many of the systems. Louisiana has 683 drinking water systems affected, with 468 in Mississippi and 72 in Alabama, according to the EPA.

Separately, the agency on Monday conducted more sampling of flood waters in New Orleans.

The agency also said it granted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a waiver from water discharge permits to help pump the hurricane flood waters from the city.