ST. MARTIN PARISH — A boil advisory remains in effect across the City of St. Martinville, even as crews have completed repairs to a major water leak that left residents and businesses without water over the weekend. Officials say 100% of customers now have water service restored, but out of precaution, residents are still being asked to boil water before use.
The leak, located off Aubrey Ozenne Road, drained the city’s water tower rapidly and left many scrambling to adjust — including Zoe Robicheaux, manager of the local Sonic.
“It’s hard because my mom, she doesn’t live in city limits so I have to go there like 20-30 minutes to take a bath and brush my teeth. It's just a lot,” Robicheaux said.
She added that the situation created challenges both at work and at home.
“I have a five-month-old so washing bottles and washing in general, I can’t—I'm not gonna wash her bottles in that, so I have to pack pretty much my whole life up to be able to do everything,” she said.
St. Martinville Mayor Jason Willis said the break occurred deep in a canal and was too severe for local crews to handle. The city hired a professional contractor to make the repairs, while St. Martin Parish Government stepped in to provide water in the interim.
“We just have old infrastructure, I mean our infrastructure is old,” Willis said, attributing the issue to aging pipes and temperature fluctuations.
“We got old water lines and water pipes, you know we might have a pipe that busts in the slab or even in the ground or just busts ‘cause it busts. We can't control that. The only thing we can do is try to get it repaired and fixed, you know, as soon as possible to get the people back up with running water,” Willis said.
Even after water pressure returned to normal, many local businesses were still navigating extra expenses and operational challenges.
“Tea, it comes from a big machine so we can’t run tea because they don’t have water or lemonade. So if we run out—and we sell a lot of tea—so if we run out then that’s costing us money,” Robicheaux noted.
With water now restored citywide, Willis said the focus has shifted to safety testing, which must be completed before the boil advisory can be lifted. While no official end date has been confirmed, he’s hopeful the advisory could be removed soon.
“We’re so fortunate for them, we help them, they help us — that’s what it’s really all about,” Willis said, thanking the parish for its assistance.
City officials continue to urge residents to boil water for consumption until further notice.
