Some Opelousas residents experienced a service interruption Monday for water main repairs.
Mayor Julius Alsandor says residents and customers along West Grolee Street from Raymond Street to Hwy 3043 and all streets in the area experienced water interruptions on February 21.
The water shut off allowed crews to make additional repairs due to a water main break which occurred on Friday, February 18.
Some were unable to shower or cook for several days.
“It was rough, it was like living in the western times. I had some water in my tea kettle already that I heated up. I had coffee so I used some of that to wash my face and then we had bottled water we used to brush our teeth,” one resident said.
Some question if problems with water lines in the community will ever be fully addressed.
“They should’ve told us how long it was going to be off or what was going on or just let us know something. We had to get gallons of water so we could cook and take a bath. And put the gallon of water in a pot to warm it and take a bath,” another anonymous resident said.
We took their concerns to Mayor ,Julius Alsandor, to seek a long-term solution.
He says it's difficult to put a dollar amount on how much it will take to fix the issue in its entirety but they are currently looking at several options to address the city.
“We are in the process of talking with someone who has written grants before to try to get them in here to reach out to the federal government to see if we can get that type of money in the city of Opelousas. It’s not easily done, they’re not always guaranteed. You write it and hopefully if it’s written correctly, we could probably get some of that money,” Alsandor said.
Or if taxes need to be raised to fix problems in the city.
“ Well I’m not going to say taxes need to be raised. But some of the improvements that we want here in the city of Opelousas. That’s going to have to be something that needs to be considered going forward,” he added.
The city gave out bottles of water to those who were in need, according to Alsandor.
If you are in need of water bottles. Contact Opelousas City Hall at 337-948-2520.
Crews made repairs on Monday morning. The area remains under a boil water advisory.
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