Bad water

The good news: they are now starting to pump the water out of the city and back into Lake Pontchartrain, the mouth of the Mississippi River and/or the Gulf of Mexico.

The bad news: the water being pumped back out is so filthy that it will probably permanently damage Lake Pontchartrain, the mouth of the Mississippi River and/or the Gulf of Mexico.

Of course there's no real choice here -- emptying out the city takes priority over any environmental damage to the nearby waters. But it certainly seems to complicate the chances of New Orleans becoming a liveable city again.