Abhi Mehrotra, Lisa DiMaggio, Mary Miller

Although the state of Louisiana is home to North America’s largest river, the freshwater sponge diversity of the state has been largely ignored. Up until now, the first and only systematic review of Louisiana’s freshwater sponge richness was completed over 50 years ago. Since then, Louisiana’s freshwater systems have undergone significant deterioration in water quality as well as habitat loss through saltwater intrusion and habitat creation through river diversions and flood control measures. In 2019, the Louisiana Freshwater Sponge Project began as an effort to train community college students in multiple scientific approaches while simultaneously documenting and monitoring Louisiana’s freshwater sponge richness. When sponges are encountered while surveying riverine, lake, and bayou habitats from shore, tissue, and gemmules (if present) are collected. Water samples are collected for water quality analysis. Sediment is also collected for analysis as a secondary source of sponge tracking. In the lab, students process water and sediment samples and identify the sponges through light and scanning electron microscopy and COX-1 sequencing. To date, 255 sites have been surveyed throughout the state. Fifteen species, all from the previous study, have been identified. Species richness at sites ranges from 0-6 species with a mean of 1.2 species per site with sponges documented across all regions of the state.

Lee P. Gary, Jr., Erik B. Schultz

The advancement and sustainability of emerging drone hydro-technology is having a transformative influence on diverse industries -- and the water sector is no exception.  It is a given in the water industry that water conservation is essential for future sustainability.  Traditional methods of cleaning facilities, such as pressure washing, consume vast quantities of clean water – and generate voluminous amounts of wastewater, plus the potential pollution of vulnerable ground and surface water sources.  Nearby reservoirs are not exempt either. However, the use of drone sprayers, like the AGRAS T-40, Lucid drone, or Apellix drone, can substantially lower water usage, reduce the production of wastewater, plus minimize runoff pollution vectors.  The respective water applications of hydro-drones, including consumption characteristics and operational performance, will be presented for discussion.

Also covered are advanced hydro-drone sprayers that efficiently and precisely apply cleaning solutions to exteriors, achieving new spray levels of accuracy unattainable with conventional methods.  By adopting such expanding drone hydro-technology, it will be shown that facility managers can experience significant savings in water usage while reducing the threat of water scarcity and associated environmental pollution. Lessons learned from successful application of drone hydro-technology options, focusing on water conservation, will be presented.

Thilini Nimanthika Gunawardhan Wickrama Arachchi Gunawardhanage, Md. Alinur Rahman, Zachary LaCour, Fereshteh Emami Piri

Lake Maurepas in Louisiana serves as a crucial aquatic ecosystem, supporting significant ecological, recreational, and economic values. Recent concerns have arisen regarding potential declining of water quality due to the dredging activities in the lake for industrial purposes. To address this concern, this study investigates water and sediment quality over eight months (May to December 2023) aiming to establish the current state of the water and sediment quality in terms of heavy metal concentrations and identify the spatial distribution patterns of them throughout the water body. Samples were collected from 9 different sampling locations to cover the whole basin area. These locations were designated based on the aforementioned dredging activities and the freshwater inputs from surrounding rivers (i.e., Blind river, Amite river and Tickfaw river). Moreover, water samples were collected in three different depths: surface, middle (~1.5 m), bottom (~3 m), and sediment samples were collected from the lake bed. The heavy metal concentrations of the collected samples were analyzed using advanced analytical equipment such as Direct Mercury Analyzer and Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer.  ArcGIS, coupled with a hydraulic and transport model, was employed to study heavy metal fate in the lake over time. The results enhance our understanding of aquatic ecosystems, revealing the effects of anthropogenic activities and offering insights for broader ecological research.

Md. Alinur Rahman, Thilini Nimanthika Gunawardhan Wickrama Arachchi Gunawardhanage, Zachary LaCour, Fereshteh Emami Piri

Lake Maurepas, one of the most important aquatic ecosystems in the Pontchartrain basin, supports biodiversity, and provides a wide range of ecosystem services. Recently, Air Products and Chemicals Inc started dredging activities in Lake Maurepas for carbon sequestration underneath this lakebed. That could have an impact on the vertical mixing of different chemicals from the earth's crust. We are conducting targeted analysis on the water samples using separation techniques and atomic and molecular spectroscopy to detect thirty-two heavy and non-heavy metals, and bio-chemical contaminants, such as ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from nine sampling spots over the lake. Six sampling locations were selected from the non-dredged spots, and another three were from dredged spots for understanding the fate and transport of possible toxic chemicals in the Lake Maurepas ecosystem. Three vertical layers were considered for sample collection: surface, middle (~1.5 m), and lakebed. Different physical parameters, such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, and total dissolved solids (TDS), were taken into account to assess the interaction among the chemical and physical properties of the lake body. We aim to reveal the impact of dredging activities in the lake bed, the vertical distribution of physical, chemical, and biochemical parameters, and their interactions in different sampling spots in the lake.