Pontchartrain Conservancy to Launch Water Quality App for Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Public encouraged to submit images of 11 sampling sites for photography contest
NEW ORLEANS (June 28, 2021) – Pontchartrain Conservancy — a leader in water quality, coastal sustainability and environmental education for more than three decades — has developed Lake&Coast, an Android and iOS app that will provide the public with the organization’s weekly water quality sampling results. The app will be released to the public via device app stores in August in celebration of National Water Quality Month.
“Since 2000, Pontchartrain Conservancy has kept the public up to date with the latest water quality conditions around Lake Pontchartrain and in our basin through EPA-approved testing methods,” said Water Quality Program Director Brady Skaggs, Ph.D. “We’re thrilled to provide this data to the community with the click of a button through the Lake&Coast app. Because the information is easily accessible, citizens can make more informed decisions when it comes to swimming or boating and to have greater insight into the status of areas throughout the basin.”
Within the app, users can learn about the water quality parameters of 12 recreational sites around the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, including the Laketown Boat Launch, the Bonnabel Boat Launch, Old Beach, Pontchartrain Beach, Bayou St. John, the New Canal Lighthouse, Seabrook Harbor, Tchefuncte River, the Bogue Falaya River at Tammany Trace, Bayou Castine, Fontainebleau Beach and Northshore Beach. The weekly data is presented on parameters such as bacteria indicators, salinity, water temperature, visibility and more. Additionally, users can stay updated on advisories issued for specific sites, read descriptions about and obtain directions to each location. For the first time in presenting weekly data, weather information on recent rainfall (rain within the previous 3 days) is integrated into the site information. Runoff from rain is the single biggest variable which can impact water quality in the lake and its tributaries.
For more than 30 years, Pontchartrain Conservancy (formerly the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation) has worked to restore and preserve Lake Pontchartrain as a healthy economic and recreational resource for the region. In 2006, the lake was declared clean and safe for recreation upon its removal from the Environmental Protection Agency’s impaired water bodies list — the largest body of water in the U.S. to have ever been removed from this list. Pontchartrain Conservancy’s Water Quality team also traces sources of pollution, assists in the correction of failing waste water systems and advocates for innovations in and implementation of green infrastructure and watershed management.
Pontchartrain Conservancy is also celebrating the release of Lake&Coast by hosting a photography contest. Participants are asked to submit night and daytime images of each of the testing sites. All photographs must be taken at one or more of the sampling sites (with the exception of Pontchartrain Beach, which is not open to the public). There are no limits on the number of photos a contestant may submit. All entries must be submitted to waterquality@scienceforourcoast.org by July 16 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be notified on July 23 and will be featured and receive credit in the app.
Pontchartrain Conservancy was founded in 1989 by scientists and community leaders to confront Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis and diminishing water quality. Over the past 31 years, the organization has successfully worked to protect, restore and sustain Lake Pontchartrain, facilitating programs for coastal sustainability, water quality and education.
“Pontchartrain Conservancy has become a beacon of success for other environmental organizations around the country who look to our scientists as experts in environmental restoration and preservation,” said Executive Director Kristi Trail. “We believe people are at the center of sustainability, and are paramount to ensuring that the beautiful Pontchartrain Basin is preserved for future generations. The Lake&Coast app will help continue this belief by easily putting scientific knowledge at the public’s fingertips.”
For more information about the Lake&Coast app and complete photography contest rules, visit scienceforourcoast.org.