Lake Pontchartrain is many things: a peaceful waterfront setting and the site of the world’s longest continuous bridge, to name a few. But a lake it is not (it’s actually an estuary).
That’s just one misconception circulating about the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, which is home to 2.1 million people and even more animals, fish, and insects. Today, we’ll take a deep dive (ha!) into Lake Pontchartrain—and if this sparks your interest, you can get to know the lake more intimately during the annual Beach Sweep from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 21.
“It’s a great day to raise awareness about the impact of marine debris and educate folks about where their stormwater goes,” said Kristi Trail, executive director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF).
With that in mind, here are seven little-known facts about Lake Pontchartrain, according to Trail.
1. Lake Pontchartrain covers 630 square miles, but it is only 12 feet deep on average.
“There aren’t a lot of deep spots,” Trail said. “That allows the sun to penetrate to the bottom. So we have a full grass bed on almost all the lake, which encourages small marine life such as clams. They’re part of the food chain that brings in bigger fish like redfish and tarpon, as well as manatees, otters, and a healthy population of bald eagles, pelicans, and ospreys.”
2. Endangered birds, fish, and marine animals come to Lake Pontchartrain to raise their young.
“Estuaries are nurseries—a lot of marine life comes to the warm, shallow water for a safe place to have babies,” Trail said. “Tiny marine life on the bottom is good food for babies as well. Even sharks come to the lake to have babies in the summer and head back to the Gulf of Mexico after the babies grow up.”
3. Lake Pontchartrain connects to the Gulf of Mexico via the Rigolets and Chef Menteur passes—which is how dolphins, sharks, and other marine life swim in and out of the lake.
“(The estuarine system) starts in East Feliciana parish and goes to Plaquemines,” Trail said. “It’s a big watershed—about 10,000 square miles— and we look at all the components that tie into Lake Pontchartrain holistically.”
4. Lake Pontchartrain became heavily polluted in the 1970s and ’80s, but it is now sparkling clean thanks to the LPBF—and clams!
“Lake Pontchartrain has healthy population of clams, and they are hearty bottom-feeders,” Trail said. “They earn their keep by filtering water. They do a great job taking in water with sediment in it and cleaning it.”
5. Lake Pontchartrain is open for swimming, fishing, boating, and other recreation.
The LPBF samples the lake’s water in 12 locations every week and posts results online, along with safety conditions. “We want people to come fishing, swimming, and boating,” Trail said. “It’s so peaceful to sit and look out on the horizon and just see water and no built environment. You can watch nature at its finest.”
6. Any trash that goes into a storm drain ends up in Lake Pontchartrain.
Flick a cigarette butt into the street? That butt could end up in a baby shark’s mouth.
“Stormwater that drains into storm drains goes into Lake Pontchartrain, and that water isn’t treated or filtered—it goes directly from drain to lake,” Trail said. “It can pick up litter, debris, motor oil...”
7. Last year, Beach Sweep volunteers removed 58,665 pounds of trash from the lake.
“Anecdotally, the item we picked up most often was straws, far and away,” Trail said. “The lake is here, clean, and ready for recreation—but we still have to do our part and take care of it.”
Register for the 2019 Beach Sweep and picnic here.
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