TX Flood Water test results have come back: Flesh eating bacteria, Parasites, E-coli, and a large assortment of chemicals have been found.

[link to abcnews.go.com] - Small sample of Texas floodwater contains concerning levels of E. coli bacteria, expert says

[link to www.nytimes.com (secure)] - A Sea of Health and Environmental Hazards in Houston’s Floodwaters


Officials in Houston are just beginning to grapple with the health and environmental risks that lurk in the waters dumped by Hurricane Harvey, a stew of toxic chemicals, sewage, debris and waste that still floods much of the city.

Flooded sewers are stoking fears of cholera, typhoid and other infectious diseases. Runoff from the city’s sprawling petroleum and chemicals complex contains any number of hazardous compounds. Lead, arsenic and other toxic and carcinogenic elements may be leaching from some two dozen Superfund sites in the Houston area.

Porfirio Villarreal, a spokesman for the Houston Health Department, said the hazards of the water enveloping the city were self-evident.

“There’s no need to test it,” he said. “It’s contaminated. There’s millions of contaminants.”

He said health officials were urging people to stay out of the water if they could, although it is already too late for tens of thousands.

The water itself may turn out to be just as dangerous as the storm was.