For the past 2 months residents in St. Landry Parish have been noticing brown water coming out of their faucets. Some of them say the water has been clogging their tubs and sinks.
Elizabeth Touchette and her family, all Opelousas residents, uses bottled water to brush their teeth, cook with, as well as feed their dog.
Touchette tells KATC, “Washing fruits and vegetables you have to boil everything before you rinse it off, it’s very frustrating. My dishes, if I leave something in the dishwasher and it’s upside down there's sediment in that cup from the water cycling through."
Residents have resorted to using bottled water instead of tap water, even though officials say the water has been tested and is fine to consume.
Waterworks District #2 Board President, Sam Doucet, shared the reason the water is brown and whether or not it represents a risk to the community
"It's iron in the water and iron is naturally coming out of the ground and it is not harmful," Doucet stated in a recent interview.
Officials want the public to know that St. Landry Parish has been fighting brown water for many years and the Louisiana Department of Health tests the water every month and it is safe. St. Landry has been approved for 2 million dollars for a complete system rebuild, which will include more iron filtering and new water adjusters.
