DUSON, La. — With the recent freezing temperatures and following a lightning strike on Thursday, the Duson water plant has been trying to maintain water pressure, storage, and supply into town.
Residents in some towns in Acadiana are told to drip their water to avoid bursting pipes. The superintendent for Duson, Kim Alleman says this can cause towns to run out of water.
“100 people dripping at 5 gallons a minute, you’re looking at 500 gallons a minute,” said Alleman. “500 gallons a minute of loss. We can’t keep up. Eventually, over long periods of time, it will run out.”
He says they aim to balance getting water to people, while still having enough for emergencies.
“We have to do a balancing act between serving water and trying to build up storage,” said Alleman.
The tank has a capacity of 33 feet, which is 330,000 gallons of water. The lowest they feel safe being is 10 feet. On the coldest day of the freeze, their storage tank reached 6 feet.
“We had to let the firemen know we are at critical conditions," said Alleman. “It all comes from the same line of the hydrants, that’s why it’s good for us to communicate with the water chief when we get critical levels and stuff like that.”
The water that comes from water plants is clear. Although many people have complained about unpleasant water at home, it comes from residue on pipes. It should clear after the freeze.
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