Urban estuarine systems under stress: Environmental issues facing Louisiana's Lake pontchartrain

Abstract

Lake Pontchartrain is part of a brackish coastal estuarine system which serves as an important economic and recreational resource for the New Orleans region. Seafood extraction, shell dredging and leisure time activities are the major uses occurring on Lake Pontchartrain. In the past several decades, man has severely altered this system through urbanization, industrial activity, levee construction and subsequent destruction of wetlands surrounding the lake. There is a growing awareness of the environmental crisis facing Lake Pontchartrain, advanced by recent fish kills, detection of toxic chemicals, curtailment of recreational opportunities and the report of ‘dead zones’ in the lake. This study summarizes a series of international environmental management techniques and examines the utilization of a regional structure for water resources management in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.