The City of Opelousas Water System is investing $17 million from the state’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRLF) program into needed infrastructure improvements to improve water quality for local customers.
We tried to get someone on the telephone at the City to talk about this, but weren't able to reach anyone in any of the departments we tried calling.
Here's a press release about it from the state:
Nearly 6,500 water customers will receive improved drinking water thanks to upgrades to water mains and service lines, rehabilitation of water wells, and the replacement and installation of ground storage tanks, as well as a variety of other improvement needs.
“This is a substantial project that will make improvements throughout the distribution system of the City of Opelousas, and the results will reduce leaks by replacing existing deteriorated water mains and service lines, create better pressure flows and identify and reduce unaccounted for water loss,” said Project Engineer William H. Jarrell, III, P.E., of Morgan Goudeau & Associates, Inc.
Jarrell said the improvements are segmented into four categories of projects:
Category 1 – Water Production Facilities: This category includes the rehabilitation of five of the city’s six water wells, including cleaning and inspection of the wells, and replacement of pumps, motors, and piping, as necessary. Three of the wells are located inside the city’s corporate limits at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Guidry Street. The other wells are located south of the City of Opelousas, at the Med South well site, which is located south of the Interstate 49 and Harry Builbeau interchange, behind the hospital on Lazaro Boulevard.
Category 2 – Storage Facilities: These projects call for the replacement of an existing ground storage tank at the Med South wellsite, and the installation of a new companion storage tank. Both tanks will hold 84,000 gallons, providing improved pressure and redundancy. Other improvements include the rehabilitation of the elevated storage tank in South City Park and the ground storage tank located on East Grolee Street.
Category 3 – Distribution System Improvements: This category includes multiple projects throughout the distribution system. One project will replace water mains that are currently out of service. Several lines located under existing railroad facilities (tracks) and a bayou crossing have been plugged on each side of the rail/bayou, effectively creating dead-ends at each crossing. The lines will be repaired and connected at four rail-road crossing locations and at a bayou crossing location and looped into the other lines in the system to restore loops in the system that will improve pressure distribution throughout the system.
Another project will include the replacement of approximately 13.3 miles of old galvanized steel water mains and 12.09 miles of galvanized steel water service lines located throughout the system. The galvanized pipes will be replaced with new plastic pipes (PVC and PE). The new pipes will reduce water waste, significantly reduce or eliminate corrosive build up and reduce ongoing maintenance costs.
Category 4 – Inventory: During the service lines replacement, workers will also inventory private service line materials and update the city’s public service line inventory to comply with EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions requirements. The data will be submitted to the state as part of a request for follow-up funding to fully upgrade system lines.
Jarrell said the inventory efforts will also identify water customers who are not utilizing a new Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meter to record their water usage. New AMRs will be installed at those locations. He said he anticipates adding or replacing about 400 water meters across the city.
The funding for the improvements is provided through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which is administered by the state’s DWRLF program. The annual allotment for Louisiana’s DWRLF BIL-General Supplemental Fund is $28,7444,00, and those funds are dispersed into rural water systems throughout the state.
The funds have a principal forgiveness of up to 49 percent with the remaining 51 percent eligible for low interest. For the City of Opelousas Water System that project’s forgiveness amount is capped at $3 million, with the remaining $14 million subject to be paid back at the low interest rate of 2.45 percent.
“This BIL General Supplemental Loan is a cost-effective way for our state’s rural water districts to address make significant improvements in the quality of their service,” said LDH’s Office of Public Health Deputy Chief Engineer of Infrastructure and Finance Scott Templet, P.E.
The state’s DWRLF program assists public water systems in financing needed drinking water infrastructure improvements. The DWRLF provides low-interest loans for construction of eligible water system projects, such as treatment plants, distribution main replacements, and storage facilities. The program is administered by the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health (LDH-OPH) and operates under state law.
“The DWRLF program aims to improve drinking water quality by assisting systems in providing water that meets established standards and achieves the goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996,” said LDH’s Office of Public Health Deputy Chief Engineer of Infrastructure and Finance Scott Templet, P.E. "Safe drinking water is fundamental to community health.”
“This program helps communities throughout Louisiana keep their water as safe as possible without placing an undue burden in the form of expensive financing,” Templet said, noting that the DWRLF program is funded through federal capitalization grants matched with state monies, ensuring that the funds are used to support public health and safe drinking water delivery in Louisiana.
