Central Residents Describe Problems with Quality, Appearance of Water

Water Is Brown, Even Black for Some Residents

by Woody Jenkins

CENTRAL — Complaints about the quality of water in Central boiled to the surface Tuesday night at Kristenwood at a meeting held after the adjournment of the City Council meeting in the same room.

Mayor Pro-Tem Ralph Washington and Councilman Tony LoBue stayed on to listen to the residents’ concerns.

The meeting opened with a statement by Plaquemine attorney Patrick Pendley who said he was there to assist residents with the possibility of filing suit.  “Many of you have complained to the Baton Rouge Water Company to no avail.  The only alternative is to file suit,” he said.  He said he doesn’t have a client yet and that he could not represent anyone unless they signed a contract, which he said was in the back of the room.

He said he specializes in class action lawsuits and that he would front any costs of litigation.

“What I’m looking for is enough people with a geographic spread,” he said.

After Pendley’s remarks, residents voiced their complaints of water that is brown or even black coming from their faucets.

Most of the complaints appeared to come from the Frenchtown Road areas and parts of the City of Central south of Greenwell Springs Road but some residents from as far north as Denham Road appeared and brought water samples indicating problems.

After about 20 minutes of discussion by residents, Roland Jackson, vice president of Parish Water Company, came to the podium to answer questions.

Water in Central comes from several water wells but all of the water service is provided by Parish Water, a subsidiary of the Baton Rouge Water Company.  Parts of the system were formerly owned by Bellingrath Water Company.

Jackson apologized to the group for the problems they have been experiencing.

Jackson said the problems are not with the aquifer or with the distribution system.  He said any lead or copper which may be found in the water is coming from plumbing inside the house.

He said the mineral content in the water is meeting the secondary standards established by the EPA.

He said Parish Water has been busy responding to citizens’ complaints and coming out to residences to flush the lines.

He said citizens should call when they have a problem, so that his company can come out and flush the system.

He said Parish Water is looking for a site for a new water well.

Residents continued to complain about not being able to take a bath or a shower or run washing machines.

Jake Causey, safe water administrator for the Louisiana Dept. of Health, says his agency is going to conduct tests in the area to try to identify the problem.  He said there are many different factors that could be contributing to the problem.  He said they will test water wells as well as residences.  He said he will report back to the community

Pendley did not announce if he signed up any clients.