One consequence of the damage from the Hurricane Katrina storm surge was that the allowable water levels in the repaired canals was reduced relative to pre-Katrina elevations to maximize the potential water storage within the canals during subsequent hurricane events and to minimize the adverse impacts of sustained high-water levels in the canals.
The Michoud Assembly facility is an active plant operated by Lockheed Martin for NASA. The facility is engaged in the manufacture and assembly of the external tank for the space shuttle. In 1966, about 100 tons of TCE were released from a large tank in the Building 190 Tank Farm Area. Subsurface investigations revealed the presence of chlorinated ethenes, primarily TCE and its degradation products, in soil and groundwater samples. A groundwater extraction and treatment system was installed to address shallow groundwater contamination. However, the storm drainage system within the area has been found to be leaking and therefore acts as a groundwater "sink" in the main area of contamination. This leakage to the storm sewer system resulted in unacceptable concentrations of VOCs in the storm sewer water.
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