ST. MARTIN PARISH — St. Martin Parish leaders are exploring whether residents in Catahoula could receive cleaner water sooner than expected as concerns over water quality continue in the area.
The discussion comes after the Louisiana Department of Health’s latest water system scores gave St. Martin Parish Water District No. 4, which serves Catahoula, an F rating. It is one of three systems in St. Martin Parish currently holding a failing grade.
For St. Martin Parish Council Chairman Chris Tauzin, the issue goes beyond infrastructure and logistics.
“When that mama’s fixing that baby some formula, she needs to have good water. When little Susie’s uniforms got to get cleaned the next day to go to school and she wears a white uniform, we don’t want it to be a brown uniform,” Tauzin said.
Officials say one of the underlying issues is the water source itself. Leaders noted that the aquifer serving Catahoula is not as strong as the aquifer used by the City of St. Martinville, contributing to some of the water quality concerns residents have experienced.
To address those issues long-term, officials are moving forward with a consolidation plan that would bring together multiple systems, including Catahoula and the City of St. Martinville, with the goal of improving water quality by Dec. 31, 2026.
However, Tauzin said he believes there may be a way to speed up that process.
“So Catahoula has about $300,000 that the board president told us about in an account that's available. So they could take $30,000 out of that account, from an intergovernmental agreement between the Catahoula water system and the city of St.Martinville to where they could purchase the water,” Tauzin said.
Tauzin argues that using existing funds to temporarily purchase water from St. Martinville could allow Catahoula residents to access cleaner water before the consolidation is fully completed.
Before that can happen, St. Martinville Water System Manager Jonathan Vining said there are still issues that must be resolved with the Louisiana Department of Health.
“Once that pressure issue is resolved, they’re then going to begin rehabbing that well number two— that is after the pressure issues are resolved with well one. The other deficiency is a secondary source of power,” Vining said.
Vining also said the city must first address the water pressure concerns and ensure a reliable backup power source is available for its wells before it can move forward with supplying water to additional customers.
He added the timeline remains uncertain because of outside factors tied to grant funding.
“You also have decision makers for the grants that are being applied for...so it’s hard to really determine a timeline on being able to provide water,” Vining said.
Don Resweber, who serves on the Consolidated Water District No. 4 Board of Directors, said while the process will take time, he shares Tauzin’s desire to move improvements forward as quickly as possible.
In a statement regarding grant funding tied to the consolidation, Resweber said, “All that money is being put to good use where it will -- upgrade the entire system, the piping, the water towers, the pumping stations. It will be used to help people have good water.”
Tauzin said his proposal is ultimately about speeding up an outcome that leaders already expect to happen through consolidation.
“In six months from now, when we get to December, they going to be on St. Martinville water. All we’re trying to do is get them there quicker,” Tauzin said.
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