What’s in Lake Pontchartrain and Is It Safe to Swim?

Lake Pontchartrain is a stunning lake that holds an even greater place in the hearts of many who call New Orleans home. It is also tied to his intense memories of August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city, causing breached levees and severe flooding around Lake Pontchartrain. The neighborhood on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain was severely inundated and much was completely destroyed.

Worse, there was nowhere to drain the water. It was the standing water that caused far more trouble than the hurricane itself. It is hard to believe that the fateful and horrific weeks of devastation began 18 years ago on August 29th. Many shops and houses have been rebuilt and the town still seems to be holding up well after almost 20 years.

Driving through some of the Orleans Parish neighborhoods, you can still see many houses marked with an “X”. This shows how many people were inside, whether there were any alive, the date, and possibly the unit that cleaned the house. Fortunately, that situation has not happened since, and the city is now much better prepared for weather emergencies and floods.

A Little History

At 38.9 miles long, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana is the longest bridge in the United States. About 5,000 years ago, the glaciers of North America began to melt, causing the Mississippi River to sink so deeply that it began to move eastward.

This started depositing sediment in the Gulf of Mexico, forming a vast delta that later in history became the communities of Orléans, St. Bernard and Plaquemine. For more than 2,000 years, the delta continued to grow, cutting away portions of land to make way for what would become Lake Pontchartrain.

The Native American Choctaw named this vast brackish reservoir Okwata, which means “wide water.” The tribes that called the shores of the lake home were the Bayugula, Mugulacha, Chitimacha, Oumas, Tanguipahoa, Corapissa and Quinipissariv.

In 1699, French settler Pierre La Moine-sur-d’Iberville decided to rename Lake Pontchartrain after the lake, ending the peace the Native Americans had built on its shores. Ta. The name was intended as a tribute to Count Pontchartrain, then French Minister of the Navy. Since that day, the lake has always been called Lake Pontchartrain.

What’s in the Lake?

Lake Pontchartrain is an estuary covering an area of ​​630 square miles. This shallow lake is home to many species of shorebirds, fish, sharks and other wildlife. Many estuary animals are endangered, and some are even endangered. Many of the birds that call this region home are endemic to this region, and any problem at the mouth of the river will certainly kill them.

1. American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Appearance: Large grey-green, cold-blooded prehistoric lizard with large teeth and long curved claws.

Size: Can be up to 14 feet long and weigh up to 1000 pounds

Dangers: The odds of encountering a giant crocodile while kayaking are slim, but possible. Crocodiles prefer to be close to shore. Lake Pontchartrain is a very popular place to ride boats, jet skis and other noisy equipment that alligators don’t really like. Anything goes in Louisiana, so avoid swimming near the shore unless it’s in a densely populated area.

2. Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

Appearance: Greyish on top with a lighter bottom.

Size: 7 – 12 feet long and 200 – 500 pounds

Dangers: No one has been killed in an attack on Lake Pontchartrain since 1914. Bull sharks see lakes as estuaries, so any sharks you see are likely juvenile sharks. Bull sharks are comfortable in brackish water and can live in the lake for as long as they like. Many kayakers have witnessed bull sharks swim under the dam near the pier. Attacks are unlikely, but not uncommon.

3. Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

Appearance: Gray upperparts, white underparts, black fin tips.

Size: 4.9-8ft long, 50-150lbs weight.

Dangers: These sharks are not aggressive towards humans except when in a frenzy of feeding. Stay in the boat when fishing. Do not hang bloody fish nearby or fish in the water.

They are voracious hunters and are very dangerous when feeding. Kayakers have reported sightings of this shark feeding furiously near a pier overlooking the lake after fishermen dropped the bait into the water.

4. Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula)

Appearance: Olive-brown with glossy scales and bright underside. It has a long, flat nose and flippers attached to the back of its body.

Size: 6-10 feet long, 100-350 pounds weight

Dangers: No attacks registered. Although unlikely, it could mistake a finger or toe in the water for a fish. They can be huge and very intimidating, but they don’t like to be near people. They can sometimes be seen swimming along the surface of the lake in the late afternoon or evening before sunset.

5. Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)

Appearance: Large carapace, large head with hooked beak, very long neck. The color is cloudy green, and the shell is speckled. It has a distinctive long, thin tongue with a red worm-like tip that attracts prey.

Size: Up to 31 inches long and 50 – 220 pounds

Dangers: These turtles are the largest in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is dangerous because they may not be aware of their existence until it is too late.

Turtles tend to be relatively aggressive and aren’t very nice when someone steps on their toes. They are more common in pure freshwater, but are definitely found in lakes, along with their much smaller but equally ill-tempered relatives, the snapping turtle.

6. Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi)

Appearance: Black and olive green to silver above, pearly white below. Size: 7-14 feet, weighs over 300 pounds, females larger than males

Size: 7 – 14 feet and over 300 pounds, with the females being larger than the males

Dangers: Gulf of Mexico sturgeons are not generally considered dangerous, but many people are injured when they jump out of the water because of their huge bodies. They can jump into boaters, anglers, and swimmers and break bones or seriously injure themselves when jumping off. The Gulf sturgeon is an endangered species and illegal to hunt.

7. Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)

Appearance: Four pairs of black whiskers reminiscent of cats. Their mouths are as wide as their bodies, and they suck in sea and river algae, plankton, shellfish, earthworms, small fish, and aquatic insects. It has a forked tail, silver above and white below. They don’t have scales.

Size: 2 to 5 feet long and 70 to 140 pounds in weight

Dangers: Catfish live on the bottom and avoid humans if possible, as they do not want to interact with them. Catfish defend themselves with serrated spines on their dorsal and pectoral fins when stepped on or caught.

Thorns are bad enough, but they are equipped with glands that release toxins that cause intense, burning pain, and can be remembered by predators and fishermen to never touch them again. . As if that wasn’t bad enough, the toxin causes severe skin necrosis. This giant fish is many times worse than being bitten by a recluse spider.

8. Oil and Grease

Appearance: Oils and greases look like shimmering rainbows in places, while oils look like mud in water near the coast.

Cause: Water drains into the lake. Drains contain oil and grease from pavements, runoff, and gasoline from vehicles, boats, and gas stations. Fat can come from axles, the food industry, machine shops, etc.

Dangers: Now everyone on the planet knows what an oil spill in the oceans, especially the Gulf of Mexico, looks like and how it affects wildlife, drinking water, plant growth, fish, and literally everything. You need to be aware of the negative impact it can have.

In connection with this, I was contacted by To say the least, it kills everything it touches. It is very difficult to eradicate from water, lakeside sediments, and the wildlife that makes it their home. Oil contaminants cause malformations in fish and cancer in most organisms.

9. Cyanobacteria

Appearance: Blue-green algae that form on the surface of lakes. They are most commonly found near shore or in shallow, calm waters.

Cause: septic tank overflows, fertilizer runoff, ranches, high water temperatures, high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Dangers: Cyanobacteria can cause mild symptoms such as dermatitis, stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, headaches, muscle and liver damage, joint pain and blisters, and neurodegenerative diseases such as: can cause more serious long-term effects such as Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. It is also dangerous for animals.

10. Sewage

Cause: Anything that goes down the drain goes down the sewer. If excessive rain, trash, auto chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides are already running from our streets into our sewers, they can overflow and reach our waterways. Damage to sewers, for example, can have serious consequences.

Dangers: Danger: An estimated 3.5 million Americans get sick each year from swimming, boating, swallowing, or coming into contact with contaminated water.

Many old diseases can be revived by contaminated water, including E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis, erythema, and cryptosporidium. Eating seafood and other products that have been soaked in contaminated water can lead to mild illnesses such as ear and eye infections and diarrhea. Either way, it’s not something you want to catch.

11. Pesticide

Cause: Pesticides seep into the ground along with rainwater, poisoning the soil. It can also run off into the sewer, which will inevitably end up overflowing with heavy rainfall into bodies of water nearby. Some of the pesticides can stick to the sediment at the bottom of the lake and continue to poison it for a long time. On a large scale, pesticides from agricultural areas can dump large loads of insecticide into waterways over and over.

Dangers: The harmful chemicals found in pesticides are hazardous to animals and humans. It is also one of the leading killers of bees and other pollinators. They can cause severe mutations in wildlife and fish. Not all pesticides will harm humans, but it is not something you want to contaminate your body with. Long-term effects of exposure to pesticides include various cancers and other diseases.

12. Lawn Chemicals

Causes: Pesticides seep into the ground with rainwater and contaminate the soil. It can also enter sewers and inevitably flood nearby bodies of water during heavy rains. Some pesticides adhere to lake bottom sediments and pollute the lake over a long period of time. At large scale, pesticides from agricultural land can repeatedly leak large amounts of pesticides into water bodies.

Dangers: Harmful chemicals in pesticides are dangerous to animals and humans. It is also one of the most common causes of death for bees and other pollinators. These can cause serious mutations in wild animals and fish. Not all pesticides are harmful to humans, but you don’t want to contaminate your body with pesticides. Long-term effects of exposure to pesticides include various cancers and other diseases.

13. Dangerous Water

Cause: Thunderstorms occur almost every afternoon in New Orleans during the summer. Storms are generally fast, but dangerous, especially if you are out on the lake in a small boat. The average depth of Lake Pontchartrain is 12 feet, so it doesn’t take long to quickly create spectacular waves and nasty currents. It’s important to watch out for clouds. If you’re in a canoe, kayak, or paddleboard, if you see them in motion, head straight for shore.

Dangers: If a storm is approaching and the lake is slightly windy, you should evacuate immediately. Winds can create violent waves that can knock people off kayaks and small boats. Even if you wear a life jacket, your life is in danger. Concrete and rebar debris still protrude along most of the coast, making it unsafe to climb the high bank for a variety of reasons.

If you plan to go to the lake, be sure to bring a friend. Also, always bring a brightly colored life jacket (not blue, grey, or black) and your phone in a waterproof bag and know how to swim well. As a former New Orleans kayaker, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Wind and storms are the most dangerous part of the lake.

The Answer

This article on everything you might come across on Lake Pontchartrain could get pretty long. Connected to the Gulf of Mexico, you might encounter an unexpected array of marine life, including puffer fish and dolphins.

But is it safe to swim there? It depends on who you ask. Swimming in the sea is much more dangerous, but people swim in droves every summer. Do not drink lake water. It should be borne in mind that one man once started swimming at 9pm. And I was able to cross the lake without any problems or injuries.

Also note that rising temperatures and rising sea levels are very likely to bring in large amounts of marine life that have not entered estuaries. Most sharks can’t tolerate brackish waters for long, but many other creatures that once lived only in hot waters near the equator have now migrated north, and Louisiana is its first destination. will be one of the earth.