LOCAL

UPDATE: Boil advisory lifted

Bobby Ardoin
Special to the Daily World

UPDATE: The city-wide boil advisory, called for after a municipal water line broke Monday, has been lifted.

A release issued at 10:20 a.m. Saturday says the water is safe to drink but Opelousas residents should flush faucets, showers and ice dispensers before use.

Original story

City officials in Opelousas plan to shut down the municipal water system beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday to replace a 16-inch main water line that broke on Monday afternoon.

Mayor Reggie Tatum said installation of the new pipe at the city water plant should take several hours and customers on the municipal water system can expect to remain on a boil advisory until water samples are examined and approved by officials with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Tatum said the city’s water problem began Christmas Eve when a main line ruptured on Guidry Street where the Opelousas Water Plant is located.

Water pressure for customers was lowered after that line break and city officials issued a boil advisory, which has remained effective since Monday.

“The line that broke was put down there in 1953,” Tatum said. "The type of pipe that was used back then is no longer in existence, so we had to contact a firm in Texas that made the new type of pipe that is available and we have waited for them to ship it to us.

“We have the pipe in right now and we are going to start working just after midnight when everyone should be asleep and if everything goes according to plan, the repairs should take about two to three hours with the least amount of inconvenience to the customers.

“The boil advisory, however, will continue until further notice," Tatum added. "It’s going to take some time to collect the water samples and have them sent off to a lab in order to be evaluated."