Over 9,600 residents in Lafayette Parish are under a boil water advisory due to low water pressure resulting from the recent winter weather.
The water advisory was issued by Lafayette Utility System and has impacted residents, business owners, and even schools in the affected areas. Mel Haynes, Owner of Sweet Envie LLC in Northside Lafayette says operations at her store were temporarily impacted by the boil water advisory.
“Typically with any business, we use water on a daily basis. When the boil water advisory came out yesterday, that significantly changed the way we had to process our baked goods inside the bakery…we're using bottled water inside the bakery."
The boil water advisory which was issued on Tuesday afternoon is impacting residents in the Northside, parts of Carencro, and areas North of Lafayette Highway 90.
In parts of Youngsville, we met with Country Village neighbors, Jennifer Duhon and Adam White. Duhon and White who get their water from a different provider, explained to KATC3 that they have been without water for days. They say the water situation in their town has been a nightmare.
“It's been an ongoing battle. Water is a basic necessity that people need to live, not being able to go to the restroom, not being able to wash the dishes. We have been in communication with Magnolia water, and they're aware that the well that provides water to these homes, is undersized.”
Some residents have gone to friends or a family’s home to take a shower, others have had to use bottled water for their basic hygiene needs.
Heidi Tweedel, Business and Marketing Analyst at LUS explained that the utility provider had to issue the boil water advisory per the Louisiana Department of Health because the pressure dropped below 20 PSI. She says LUS is monitoring the situation.
"We are waiting for the system to stabilize, our water system are increasing steadily, we just have not normalized quite as yet, when that happens we will send our samples to Louisiana Health to be tested.”
Residents are encouraged to boil their water for at least one minute and allow it to cool before consuming.
With freezing temperatures expected this weekend, officials say do not let your faucets run as this will contribute to more low pressure. For a full look at our safety tips, visit our website at www.katc.com.
