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Water
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is dedicated to protecting the state’s water resources, including rivers, lakes, wetlands, groundwater, and coastal areas. Safeguarding water quality requires a coordinated effort across many components of the agency. Multiple divisions contribute their expertise to carry out essential functions such as permitting, water‑quality assessment, monitoring, compliance oversight, and public support. These interconnected responsibilities help ensure that Louisiana’s waters remain safe for drinking, recreation, wildlife, and economic activity.
One of the primary functions supporting water protection is Permitting, which establishes requirements for facilities and activities that discharge to state waters. Through a collaborative review process, several divisions evaluate permit applications, technical data, and proposed treatment methods. This shared effort ensures that discharges meet state and federal standards, including those established under the Clean Water Act, and that permitted activities do not compromise water quality.
Another important component is Water Planning and Assessment, which focuses on understanding the condition of Louisiana’s water bodies and identifying long‑term strategies to maintain or improve them. This function includes developing water‑quality management plans, conducting watershed evaluations, and analyzing data to determine whether water bodies meet designated uses such as swimming, fishing, or drinking‑water supply. Multiple divisions contribute scientific, technical, and regulatory expertise to support these assessments.
LDEQ also performs extensive Monitoring and Reporting to track the health of surface water and groundwater across the state. Field teams collect samples from rivers, lakes, estuaries, and aquifers, while laboratory staff analyze these samples for pollutants, nutrients, and other indicators of water quality. The resulting data are shared with the public and federal agencies, supporting transparency and helping communities understand local water conditions. Several divisions work together to maintain monitoring networks, validate data, and ensure accurate reporting.
Ensuring compliance with water‑quality laws is achieved through the agency’s Enforcement functions. These activities include inspections, investigations of citizen complaints, review of discharge monitoring reports, and enforcement actions when violations occur. Multiple divisions contribute to this work by providing technical evaluations, legal support, and follow‑up oversight. Enforcement helps protect Louisiana’s waters by ensuring that permitted facilities and regulated activities meet their obligations.
To support the public, regulated community, and local governments, LDEQ maintains a comprehensive Forms and Applications section for water‑related activities. This resource includes permit applications, reporting forms, instructions, guidance documents, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). These materials are developed and updated by several divisions to ensure clarity, accuracy, and consistency with current regulations. The Forms and Applications section helps users navigate requirements and access essential information.