Environmental impact of katrina on gulf waters

[bothcrows]

I do not want to be an alarmist here but all of us who enjoy the beaches and who make our living from the beaches know that we will most likely suffer some effects of the Louisiana and Missisippi run off and pumping of flood waters. I just heard last night that people in Mississippi are allready being warned not to go in the gulf waters. Is there any talk of such an impact in the area on water quality and resulting effects on seafood and what kind of time frame are we looking at. I am coming to Seagrove next week, have been coming to the Panama City area for 50 years and allways enjoy it, and will this time too even if I have to do my swimming in the pool and eat steak rather than seafood.

[SlowMovin]

I'm sure this is going to make somebody mad, but...

New Orleans was a cesspool on its best days. We've now got what was heavily polluted water to start with, mixed with a flooded, failed sewage system and it's all got to be pumped somewhere to get it out of the streets. The only two "somewheres" in New Orleans are Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River...both of which drain into the Gulf. Do the math.

[aquaticbiology]

Luckily fish can move and will do so. Shrimp on the other hand cant move as fast, and oysters cant move at all, no matter how yecchy it gets. I would say to immediately cease all 'fresh' gulf oyster consumption (atlantic oysters will, of course, still be fine), start getting your shrimp from Wal-Mart or some other big chain, preferably frozen, as they will then probably be from a farm and not the local area. Farmed Tiger shrimp (black stripes) arent as good (IMHO) but the 'gulf-looking' ones in the red-top bag that are fully cooked then quick frozen are grown in Thailand, corn-fed and passed multiple USDA inspections. Like fresh 'jet' pineapple from Hawaii, they're great!

[wetwilly]

No doubt there is going to be a big environmental impact from Katrina but I have not heard anything on the news or in the media other than that statement.

2-3 nights ago on Nightline I did see the footage of the 1st pumping station that was put online after the storm and it was pumping massive amounts of flood waters ie "Toxic Gumbo" into the lake and we all know the lake flows into the Gulf. :shock: Not good but where else are the going to put it? :idontno:

There is not way to quickly drain the city and "filter" this water so it will be sent up/down stream in its toxic form and nature will have to deal with it. What I would like to know is some detail on where it is going to go after its initial pumping (east or west), what effect is it going to have on the wildlife/peeps (we know it is not good), and how long will it take to for it to naturally "purified"? My concern is that nature is not obviously equipped to deal with this toxicity of the industrial, petrochemical, and biochemical mix. Yikes :eek: :eek:

My guess is that noone really knows at this point. I'm sure they have theories and guesses but like most other toxic and hazmat situations it will be years before we know for sure.

It seems that one of their main priorities at this point and rightly so is drain the city, start clean up, assess infrastructure conditions/restoration, and fix the levy and pumping systems before another storm or heavy rains come in from another storm system. :bang: :bang:

[Uncle Timmy]

I'm not sure about this, but I believe the tides flow counterclockwise in the Gulf of Mexico basin. Does this mean that any pollutants from New Orleans will drift west towards the Texas coast? And hopefully the impact will not be as bad here?

[OhioBeachBum]

I'm not sure about this, but I believe the tides flow counterclockwise in the Gulf of Mexico basin. Does this mean that any pollutants from New Orleans will drift west towards the Texas coast? And hopefully the impact will not be as bad here?

I was thinking same thing (currents tending more or less westward).

[katie blue]

Hey I found this quicktime .mpg which shows an animation of the currents of the Gulf of Mexico. Took a minute to load in even with my DSL. But it shows that the currents are pretty variable in the gulf. Water flows in all directions, and changes frequesntly based on sea surface height and time of year.

Looking at this, looks like none of us will be spared completely from the toxins, but the real issue is how "diffused" they will be once they meld into that big body of water. At certain points of the year our area does tend to flow to the west, but much of the time the NOLA area flows to the east first.

http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/img_rl/currents_carib.mpg

[Donna]

Keep in mind that water purifies itself every 100 feet. Even in localized situations, groundwater wells are required to exist no closer than 100 feet from an in-ground septic leach field, but are allowed. What we're not sure of is the cumulative effects of man-made toxins with natural decomposition and human fluids, etc. But generally, the greatest threat to human health will be direct exposure to the contaminated water, followed by human contact that will spread infectious diseases. So it's the people who are alive that are a greater threat than those souls who died.

Shrimp and lobsters, catfish and some other seafaring delicacies are the scavengers of the oceans. If we all knew what they eat, we'd probably think twice about eating them. Not that I'm about to embark on any but a temporary respite! Also, there is a particular agent in Sauvignon Blanc wine (pairs well with oysters under the best of circumstances) that will neutralize bacteria that causes intestinal distress, if the two are taken together. Some of our friends will not eat half-shell oysters at any time, unless they do so with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

[SlowMovin]

Right now a big box of oysters and a bottle of wine sounds pretty good.

[kathydwells]

Right now a big box of oysters and a bottle of wine sounds pretty good.

Will you share?:idontno:

[katie blue]

hm, time to break out the Soy-sters... ;-)

[Donna]

Does anybody on this Board barbeque oysters on the grill? Yum, yum!

[bsmart]

Does anybody on this Board barbeque oysters on the grill? Yum, yum!


Sounds good! want to offer your recipe?

[SlowMovin]

Check the "Favorite Recipes" post in the lounge. She put it there.

[OhioBeachBum]

Also, there is a particular agent in Sauvignon Blanc wine (pairs well with oysters under the best of circumstances) that will neutralize bacteria that causes intestinal distress, if the two are taken together. Some of our friends will not eat half-shell oysters at any time, unless they do so with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Sounds like I may have to develop a taste for that... :biggrin: