Water quality

The Trump administration has rolled back limits on some contaminants, though doctors say no levels are safe.

Officials are collecting samples from various locations and analyzing them for heavy metals – such as arsenic, chromium, barium and lead – and petroleum-related hydrocarbons.

The Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee advanced legislation that would ban the fluoridation of public water systems. State Surgeon General Ralph Abraham supports Senate Bill 2, despite opposition from the Louisiana Dental Association.

Residents can go back to using their tap water without having to boil it first.

A new policy brief from the United Nations argues that citizen science is crucial to global water security. In the Midwest, various programs tap community members to test stream water quality and tag migratory butterflies.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a deadline of 2037 for lead line replacement. A new study out from the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans tested the water in nearly 150 homes in New Orleans. It found that 88% tested positive for lead.

Construction has begun on a saltwater sill near Myrtle Grove to help mitigate the effects of saltwater intrusion up the Mississippi River.

PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” can cause cancer and problems during pregnancy.

Water sampling after the recent explosion and fire at the Dow Chemical facility in Plaquemine found elevated levels of the hazardous compound ethylene oxide. But when the same sample was tested at a separate lab, it showed virtually no contamination, according to a preliminary incident report from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

Louisiana allows more toxic chemicals to enter its waterways than most of the country, landing among the top-five states in a new analysis from three national environmental advocacy groups.