Episode 7: The Clam That Saved Lake Pontchartrain

Louisiana Insider

Several times Lake Pontchartrain has faced serious pollution issues and each time it has survived largely because the lake, when given a chance, has had the ability to cleanse itself. Once closed to public swimming, folks these days are invited to jump it to an amazingly clean body of water. The sea life provides more proof. Carlton Dufrechou knows the lake probably better than anyone. He is the director of the commission that runs the lake-spanning Causeway Bridge and the former director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – recently rebranded as the Pontchartrain Conservancy. In this week's episode, Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, joins Dufrechou in discussing the lake and its amazing recovery. Oh yes, we will talk about the blue crabs and the manatees, too.