MDEQ: Delta lakes safe following historic flood

MISSISSIPPI DELTA — Environmental officials say many lakes in the Mississippi Delta are safe for swimming and boating despite flooding by the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said yesterday in a news release that it sampled 23 lakes in the Delta for chemical and bacterial contamination following flooding on the Mississippi River and the Yazoo Backwater.

MDEQ and the Mississippi State Department of Health agreed that the tested waters that were safe. The main concern had been waterborne disease from flooded sewage treatment systems.

Some lakes had low oxygen levels, which is a threat to aquatic species, but not people.

MDEQ executive director Trudy D. Fisher said the tests don’t reflect “the condition of every area of every lake” and encouraged people to “use caution and common sense.”

Source: AP