YOUNGSVILLE, La. — The city's rapid growth helped earn it the title of the fastest-growing city in the 2021 Census. With all this growth comes the need for a better water supply.
Planning for the water treatment plant project started back in 2018 to increase Youngsville's water production capacity, particularly in the southern region.
Seeking state funding, the city secured a $5 million water sector grant and a loan of $8.9 million. To accommodate the increasing population, three water wells have already been constructed that will help to serve the future water plant.
This plant will install a 500,000-gallon storage tank with high-capacity service pumps and filtration systems.
KATC spoke with Susan Richard, a project engineer with Domingue Szabo & Associates. She says the city currently relies heavily on LUS for its water needs. Now, the plant can have a positive impact on the city's infrastructure and growth, helping to make the city more independent and have its own water source.
“Youngsville has seen unprecedented growth," she says. "When we did the population projections, the 20-year projection was that they were going to reach a population of about 34,000 in 2040, and a lot of that growth is happening to the south. So they felt they needed to produce that extra water for the extra growth in the south."
The water treatment plant will be located at 415 Iberia Street.
