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Chronology and Analysis of Environmental Impacts Within the Pontchartrain Basin of the Mississippi Delta Plain: 1718 - 2002

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Chronology and Analysis of Environmental Impacts Within the Pontchartrain Basin of the Mississippi Delta Plain: 1718 - 2002 CHRONOLOGY AND ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS WITHIN THE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA PLAIN: 1718 - 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Engineering and Applied Sciences Program by John Anthony Lopez M.S. University of Southern California B.S. Louisiana State University August 2003 ©2003, John Anthony Lopez ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to gratefully thank my advisor, Dr. Shea Penland, and the rest of my dissertation committee, including Dr. Alex McCorquodale, Dr. Mark Kulp, Dr. Dale Easley and Dr. Michael Poirrier. I also thank my wife, Sharon White, for her help in editing and for keeping the computer running. iii FOREWORD The Pontchartrain Basin has seen nearly three centuries of European settlement since 1718. It has seen dramatic changes as its population rose, its resources were utilized and its infrastructure expanded. Although some changes are ephemeral, many are not and so have added to the cumulative impact on the basin. European settlement began with the founding of New Orleans in a mosquito-infested swamp. We now find the basin containing the two largest cities in the state (including the capital) and a total basin population of 2,097,151. The region retains the great economic assets of the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, and its tidal marshes. The local population now confronts not only the daunting problem of mitigating ongoing and historical environmental impacts, but also the challenge of continuing to grow and prosper, while meeting modern environmental standards such as those requiring minimizing environmental impact to wetlands. Lake Pontchartrain developed into a significant recreational lake in the early 20th century only to find, as it approached the end of the century, that it had become an environmental problem. Portions were closed to swimming near urban centers by the 1970’s (LPBF, 1995). The environmental toll on the basin became apparent by the 1980’s and began to be documented by authors such as Stone (1980); Gagliano (1981); Scaife and others (1983) and Houck and others (1989). Along with this, a rise in awareness of the ecological importance of wetlands worldwide came during this same time (Mitch and iv Gosselink, 2000). The 1990’s saw major environmental, research and conservation initiatives directed toward the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. These included: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – “to restore and preserve the Pontchartrain Basin” University of New Orleans Coastal Research Lab University of New Orleans – Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences Coastal Wetlands Protection, Planning and Restoration Program (Breaux Act) Pontchartrain Restoration Program Together, these programs have directed 100’s of millions of dollars toward the protection or restoration of the Pontchartrain Basin. This investment will likely continue to increase. In 2001, a joint initiative between the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began with the goal of federal authorization of $14 billion dollars for coastal restoration. The Pontchartrain Basin is a significant part of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and would likely receive a portion of this funding. Because scientific observation and documentation of the Pontchartrain Basin only began with the pioneering research by H. E. Fisk in 1940 and habitat maps by T. O’Neil in 1949 and R. Darnell in the 1950’s, no baseline of Pontchartrain Basin conditions is scientifically documented. Previous studies of the Pontchartrain Basin fall short of a comprehensive historical assessment of environmental impacts to the Pontchartrain Basin. Houck and others (1989) emphasized only the current condition of the water quality of Lake Pontchartrain. The Comprehensive Management Plan of the LPBF is v also limited to identifying the most severe ongoing problems and alternatives to addressing those problems. Gagliano (1981) first documented the significant wetland loss occurring throughout the Louisiana coast including the Pontchartrain Basin, but had little historical context to relate to these adverse developments. More recently, Penland and others (2001) and Turner (1997) have attempted to relate wetland loss to historical events along the coast and present a more rigorous analysis of cause and effect. With this scientific approach, it is necessary to have a reference for all the major environmental events throughout the basin, so that alternative causes may be tested against observed impacts. No such complete inventory has been attempted for the Pontchartrain Basin. This work presents a database of environmental events and provides an analysis of the most significant environmental impacts. It is hoped that such research will facilitate a more accurate reconstruction of the Pontchartrain Basin’s historical baseline. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................iii FOREWORD.................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... xvi ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................xviii INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 DESCRIPTION OF PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN TODAY (CIRCA 2001)..................................... 1 FRAMEWORK GEOLOGY ................................................................................................... 6 CLIMATE.......................................................................................................................... 7 HABITATS ........................................................................................................................ 7 HISTORIC SETTLEMENT .................................................................................................... 8 DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT.......................................................................... 9 PROPOSED PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ........................ 12 PRESENTATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL DATA .................................................. 15 METEOROLOGICAL EVENTS.................................................................................. 24 HURRICANES AND TROPICAL SYSTEMS.......................................................................... 24 PRECIPITATION .............................................................................................................. 26 vii FREEZES......................................................................................................................... 29 MISSISSIPPI RIVER DISCHARGES .................................................................................... 31 OCCURRENCE OF EXTREME METEOROLOGICAL EVENTS ............................................... 40 SETTLEMENT IMPACTS............................................................................................ 41 LEVEE RIDGES ............................................................................................................... 41 COMMERCIAL LOGGING......................................................................................... 51 WETLAND FORESTS ....................................................................................................... 51 UPLAND FORESTS .......................................................................................................... 54 DREDGING AND ARMORING OF WETLANDS .................................................... 60 CANALS ......................................................................................................................... 60 COMMERCIAL HYDRAULIC CLAMSHELL DREDGING ...................................................... 67 COMMERCIAL HYDRAULIC CLAMSHELL DREDGING ...................................................... 68 ARMORING..................................................................................................................... 73 WATER POLLUTION .................................................................................................. 77 SEWERAGE AND POPULATION ........................................................................................ 77 INDUSTRIAL SOURCES OF POLLUTION............................................................................ 80 INDUSTRIAL SOURCES OF POLLUTION............................................................................ 81 Oil and gas ................................................................................................................ 81 Spills ......................................................................................................................... 82 viii ANALYSIS OF MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT PERIODS....................... 83 INTRODUCTION TO THE METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 83 FORMULA UTILIZED TO CALCULATE THE ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY INDEX (EFI) ... 89 ANALYSIS OF 1718 – 1844 NATURAL LEVEE AND RIDGE UTILIZATION ........................
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