Water Quality, safety of seafood, and how it is affecting us

    Very few people ever stop to think about our water quality. In fact, our water is pretty much taken for granted.  Very few people ever think about water, period. It is not a renewable resource. Water, on our planet has been around for millions of years. It is virtually indestructible. It can be evaporated. It can be boiled away, but sooner or later it returns in the form of water somewhere on the planet. The water that comes out of your tap today could very well have quenched the thirst of a long gone dinosaur.

It is also entirely possible it could have been the very same drops of water poured over the head of Jesus Christ to baptize him.

Then,  it could be the very water Jesse James drank from a canteen on his way to rob a bank. It could actually have been someone's bathwater. No one knows for sure where the water has been.  It may have been flushed out of some chemical plant or possibly water from Fukishma power plant.

When you draw water from the tap at your home it is not new water. The bass caught in the lake, or anywhere, are swimming in used water. The importance of water here in Louisiana is denoted by the nickname given to the state as the Bayou State.

 What is known abut water, across the globe,  is that our water is slowly being polluted. It is slowly becoming undrinkable.  Along with that pollution living things are being destroyed. When will the lack of water destroy mankind? How far away is that one?

The only answer is to our water problem is to take care of our water. The answer is to make everyone aware of the fact that our water is very, very precious.

Morgan J. Landry 

Morgan's swamp dogs

Pollution is affecting the products we put on our tables and feed to our children and grandchildren. Example: the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals currently advises us  to limit fish consumption, of fish caught in Bayou Lafourche, to no more than two meals per month (www.louisiana.gov).

Yet, Bayou Lafourche is where our drinkng water comes from. But, no one seems to be concerned, at least not here in Pierre Part, La. The concern, however, can be created through class projects. The results of that project might open the eyes of the entire community. We here, in Louisiana, the ones of us that love crawfish, catfish, and other seafood, should be particularly interested in this project and promote its onset.

Morgan's Water Challenge --- 

   I challenge students and teachers in Pierre Part, La., students and teachers in Assumption Parish, La.,  to set forth and example for students and teachers across the state of Louisiana and across the United States to become heavily involved in their own water projects.

I challenge everyone to become seriously involved. Make this a class project, make it a personal project, make it a community project and let's test the waters and let's report the results  right here in this blog and keep records of the results.

 Then the ones of us here in Assumption Parish will report to our police jury. Others across the state or across the country can report to their local governments, and to state governments and to our federal representatives in Washington. Let's save our water!

Save our waters project --

For a class project on water quality the test would have to extend over several months. At least three and possibly four months duration of testing periodically. Before a heavy rain and after a heavy rain, depending on where testing is occurring. Note: this would be for water bodies, such as Lake Verret or Bayou Lafourche. 

Testing of home water supplies is one project by itself. It is a great project considering the questions people are putting forth about home water quality. The Assumption Parish Water Works has issued warnings of tests providing over the limit results on fecal matter. And, some of us are drinking this water. The worse part of all of it is that we drink that water.

This has occurred for the past five months. Many people are accusing the water company of lying to the public. Testing for water quality at home would be one way of verifying what the water company is telling the public. Water testing kits can be purchased online. Pro-Lab sells kits online for $9.95 that test for water quality. Meters are available for twice that price on various websites including amazon.com and others. What to look for is too much chlorine, the presence of any type of nitrates and nitrites. These are chemicals that enter our drinking water from fertilizers, sewage, feed lots and other geological elements. The PH factor of water has a lot to do with the safeness of the water. How to test the water is explained in a Wiki how.  An explanation of what can be in the water and how it got there is available at the pro-lab site. 

I can also tell you that Assumption Parish Water Works will have a million excuses and deny the accuracy of the tests. They do not trust you the public but they want the public to trust them as a safe water provider.

To report the results of your tests just simply post in a comment to this web blog.  In next week's blog we cover how to protect yourself from harmful ingredients in your drinking water.