Drinking water safety is top priority, local officials say

Drinking water systems are in the spotlight with the recent discovery of lead contamination in the Flint, Michigan, water system, and Tri-City officials say local drinking water goes through rigorous, routine tests to ensure the water is the safest available.
Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said city officials have put an emphasis on the city’s water and sewer systems, spending millions of dollars on improving infrastructure the past few years.
City leaders work “hand in hand” with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and have received nothing but compliments from the department on the city’s water system, Grizzaffi said.
“We do pay attention to providing the safest water possible,” Grizzaffi said.
Morgan City Utilities Director Bill Cefalu said city officials test for numerous contaminants, including lead.
Morgan City’s drinking water sources are the Atchafalaya River and Intracoastal Waterway.
In the past, there have been chemical spills near Baton Rouge on the Intracoastal Waterway. Therefore, the city temporarily stopped getting water from the Intracoastal and relied solely on water from the Atchafalaya River, Cefalu said.
Spills on the Atchafalaya, however, generally aren’t a contamination problem for the city to treat because of the Atchafalaya’s good flow, Cefalu said.
Patterson Water Plant Supervisor Sharon Gillum said officials treat the city’s water with various chemicals, which take all the solids, bacteria and viruses out of the system.
Patterson, Berwick and Bayou Vista all get their water from the Lower Atchafalaya River.
Once every three years, officials do a citywide test to specifically check for lead contamination, Gillum said. Workers check for corrosion of pipes in the water distribution system regularly, Gillum said.
Patterson officials are keeping an eye on the situation in Flint, Michigan, Gillum said.
“We do everything possible to protect the public,” Gillum said. “We make sure if it’s not right, we don’t let it (the water) get out (to the public).”
City employees do numerous different water checks all day long and work closely with the city’s chemical consultants, Gillum said.
Patterson leaders plan to break ground on construction of the city’s new water plant in the early summer, Mayor Rodney Grogan said. That new plant will make treating Patterson’s water much easier because everything in the plant will be automated, Gillum said.
In addition to city water system checks, state officials come in twice a year to collect water samples to check for contaminants, Gillum said.
Berwick and Bayou Vista have one water plant to treat their drinking water that is jointly owned by the town and Bayou Vista waterworks district.
Berwick Mayor Louis Ratcliff said state officials require local water systems to take samples from different areas of Berwick and Bayou Vista to check for lead and copper. Workers perform daily bacteria and chlorine tests as well, Ratcliff said.
“Everything’s being done in accordance with what’s required by the federal government and the state government,” Ratcliff said.
On Monday, the Associated Press reported that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is proposing a five-part strategy to determine whether Flint’s water is safe to drink.
The state of Michigan says the plan to try to ensure drinking water no longer is tainted with lead includes residential water testing, school testing, food service and restaurant provider testing, blood testing and overall testing of Flint’s water, the article stated.
Flint switched in 2014 to the Flint River from Detroit’s water system to save money. The river water was not treated properly and lead from pipes leached into Flint homes, The Associated Press reported.
The city returned to Detroit’s system in October 2015 while it awaits the completion of a separate pipeline to Lake Huron this summer, the article said.