2005 Targeted  Watersheds Grants:
                                Tangipahoa River
                                  Louisiana and Mississippi
    WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
    The Tangipahpoa River is located in eastern Louisiana, along the northern edge of Lake
    Pontchartrain. The watershed covers 520 square miles and is characterized by pine and mixed
    hardwood forests, bottomland hardwood forests, swamps and freshwater and brackish water
    marshes. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has designated the middle and
    upper reaches of the river as a scenic stream.

    ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
    Historically, the river was popular for recreation.  However, pollution levels in the river became a
    public concern in the 1980s when a group of girl scouts became ill while swimming. The
    Tangipahoa River is on the 2004 Impaired Waterbodies 303(d) list due to high fecal coliform
    levels.

    •  High fecal coliform levels are a result of discharges from dairy farms and wastewater
       treatment plants (WWTPs).
    •  Small individual wastewater treatment plants often function improperly and release fecal
       bacteria into the watershed.
                                  RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
                                  The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will use the
                                  Targeted Watersheds Grant funds to implement the Tangipahoa
                                  River Water Quality Improvement Project. Actions include:

                                  •   Helping small WWTPs come into compliance  through
                                     education and technical assistance.
                                  •   Assisting municipal WWTPs in implementing a flow-proportional
                                     disinfection program to reduce fecal loading to the watershed.
                                  •   Airing a public service announcement on local television to
                                     educate the public on the impacts of home wastewater.
                                  •   Reaching out to local dairy farmers to promote best management
                                     practices and the lagoon cleanout program.
                                  •   Assisting dairies in obtaining the proper permits and providing
                                     assistance with closing dairy lagoons.
                                  •   Bi-weekly monitoring of the water for E. coli and  nutrients and long-
                                     term modeling of the water quality to measure impacts of
                                     the program.
Water Quality sampling in the -watershed.
LPBF is -working -with the Natural Resource
Conservation Service to implement best
management practices on dairy farms.
    EPA840-F-07-001J
                                                               www.epa.gov/twg

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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has worked to
build a strong coalition known as the Tangipahoa River Task
Force.  Members include:
 •  Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
 •  Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
 •  Natural Resources Conservation Service
 •  Louisiana State University's Agricultural Extension
    Program
 •  Tangipahoa Parish and several municipalities
 •  Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
 •  Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
 •  Tangipahoa Futures Network
 •  Citizens for a Clean Tangipahoa
 •  Hammond Daily Star and WWL-TV
        EPA's Targeted Watersheds
                     Grants
   EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants program is
   a competitive grant program designed to
   encourage collaborative, community-driven
   approaches to meet clean water goals.

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                                                                    For More Information
                                                                    Contact:
                                                                    Andrea B. Calvin
                                                                    Program Coordinator
                                                                    Lake Pontchartrain Basin
                                                                    Foundation
                                                                    andrea@saveourlake.org
                                                                    (504)836-2235
                                                                    www.saveourlake.org
                                                                    Funding: $854,242
Since Hurricane Katrina, development has flourished in the Tangipahoa Watershed, impacting
•water quality. LPBF is -working -with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to
mitigate the damages.
                         2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants - Tangipahoa River

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