[FinallyBackInNH]

I remember being in Biloxi in 1989 (before Biloxi was Biloxi, which it isn't so much anymore), and they were telling us then not to go in the water with any open cuts because of sewage and whatnot in the water. If memory serves, they were telling us it was left from CAMILLE 20 years earlier, and was just trapped by the barrier islands from ever getting washed out to sea.

[Hardastarboard]

she turned New Orleans, one of America's most charming and seductive cities, into a festering lake of filth

Wow, just like New York.

[JasonC]

The worry over chemicals is silly, they are far too diluted to matter and if anything help by killing off some of the bacteria. No, the issue is sewage which contains bacteria that will cause dysentery at a minimum, and cholera and yellow fever at a maximum. Yellow fever was endemic in the whole delta region in the 19th century. All are controlled by proper sanitation and water treatment, and treatable when the whole medical system is functioning properly. Clearly, neither is at the moment. Evacuating people is the only short term solution, with bottled water only used in the meantime.