From a wire service story:
The state Health Department cleared the way Monday for people to begin to return to the New Orleans neighborhood that
faced Hurricane Katrina’s worst fury, saying tap water in part of the Lower Ninth Ward is safe.[...]The area encompasses the 10 blocks or so closest to the Mississippi River, where the ground is higher. In other parts of the
neighborhood, people still must boil water before using it to drink, prepare food or bathe, Nagin noted. Officials said they do not
know when they’ll be able to open those areas.About 30 to 50 trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been set up on lots where the city has certified
that power and safe water were available, said Darryll J. Madden, an agency spokesman. Lack of power and water has kept FEMA from
filling 350 other requests in the neighborhood.
Recovery is a very slow process, it seems.