The city of Franklin has been under a boil order since mid-August, forcing residents and businesses to boil any water before they used it for drinking, cooking or watering animals.
As of Thursday, that boil order has been listed.
Documentation submitted by city officials indicates it was lifted by the state on Thursday, December 19.
Here's a statement from Mayor Eugene Foulcard:
The past few months have been challenging for the citizens of Franklin as we endured a Boil Notice issued by the Louisiana Department of Health. Today, I am pleased to announce that the Boil Notice has officially been lifted. While this is a significant step forward, it does not mean our work is done. Our aging water system continues to pose challenges, but there are promising developments on the horizon.
When I took office in 2018, I prioritized securing funding to rehabilitate Franklin’s water distribution system. My first step was to assess the situation thoroughly, so I enlisted Miller Engineering to develop a comprehensive plan and cost estimate for fully rehabilitating our water plant and distribution lines. Their findings in 2018 projected a $35 million price tag for the necessary upgrades.
As I stated in my inaugural address, this issue didn’t arise overnight, and it cannot be resolved overnight. Securing funding requires a 25% match from the City for any grants or capital outlay funding we pursue. This is why I consistently emphasize the importance of Shopping Local First, Eating Local First, Playing Local First, and Fueling Local First—those tax dollars are critical for creating the matching funds we need.
Despite our efforts, our applications for Louisiana Water Sector Grants in both 2020 ($4 million) and 2022 ($2.4 million) were denied. Unfortunately, many water systems across Louisiana are in even worse condition than ours, as evidenced by the frequent boil notices reported statewide. Nevertheless, we remain committed to improving Franklin’s water system.
Thanks to the efforts of Senator Allain and State Representative St. Blanc, we secured $2.4 million in Capital Outlay funding. These funds will enable us to rehabilitate the Franklin water plant, install valves across the city, and address problem areas where pipes frequently rupture due to weather changes. We are currently finishing up the engineering phase of this rehab with works happening within the first quarter of 2025.
During this Boil Water Notice, my administration worked tirelessly to minimize the burden on our citizens and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. I personally met with the Governor’s office, the Speaker of the House, the Louisiana Department of Health, and our legislative delegation on a weekly basis.
To provide some context, the notice stemmed from turbidity issues observed between January and July. Once placed on notice by LDH on August 19, our water department acted immediately. By August 26, contractors recalibrated the City’s SCADA system to meet the required 15-minute monitoring intervals. This corrective action was completed within the mandated 7-day period. We have reported our numbers daily to the Louisiana Department of Health since August 26 in a special report generated above what is standardly required in an effort to get the Boil Notice lifted. Although we are finally lifted on the Boil Notice we continue to walk a long and winding path with our water system.
I am grateful for the resilience of our community and business owners during this time and for the efforts of everyone involved in lifting the Boil Notice. I am truly blessed with the outpouring of prayers, support and kind words of encouragement that was given to me, the City Council, my administration as we struggled through. However, I saw the bright lights of our City step up in support. Together, we will continue striving toward a brighter future for Franklin’s water system. My administration works hard each and every day to locate and acquire grant funding for every aspect of our City to continue moving our Revitalization Movement forward. TOGETHER, we can continue to strive to create the Franklin we want it to be.
