Residents in Roseland have been without water for several days as officials work to repair a water main that sustained chemical burns.
A boil water advisory went into effect over the weekend as repairs were made to the water main.
But crews discovered additional problems during the repair process.
“In that process of making those repairs, we discovered that the pipe had significant chemical burns,” said Van L. Showers, mayor of Roseland.
Showers said the water main break occurred next to a plant that is a subsidiary of Smitty’s.
In a statement, Smitty’s said, “We became aware of the broken pipe at the same time as officials and citizens.”
They noted that the pipe is not on the plant’s property, and they are seeking more information.
The chemical burns were discovered on the outside of the water pipe on Sunday, prompting officials to shut off water to the rest of the town as a precaution.
Residents reported turning on their taps only to find no water at all.
Crews were seen on site Tuesday afternoon.
“The plan is to replace all of the piping, but the temporary plan is to run a temporary line to get the citizens back on water,” said Showers.
The mayor said they are waiting on testing from the Louisiana Department of Health, but believes the chemical damage is isolated to the outside of the main.
“Because that water line remained under pressure, there is no reason to believe that the water line there was no reason for the chemical to penetrate that pipe because it was always under pressure,” said Showers.
Temporary repairs have been made, and officials are now waiting to build pressure to officially restore water to residents.
They will then put a plan in place to completely replace the six-inch line.
WDSU has reached out to the LDEQ for a statement about the chemicals found on the water line and if they were investigating this.
Timeline:
Saturday
- The mayor received a phone call about a water leak at the plant that’s a subsidiary of Smitty’s. The leak was located, and a contractor was called. The contractor claimed it could be repaired on Monday.
Sunday Afternoon
- The leak grew significantly, and they had to make emergency repairs on the line. During this process, the mayor says crews discovered chemical burns on the water pipe. Crews cut the pipe further back to the “best of their knowledge,” where the burns stopped.
Monday–
- The pipe started leaking again, but in a different area than the one they had fixed. That pipe was repaired right away.
Monday Night
- The mayor received another call that the leak has sprung again in a different spot. Engineers were contacted and said their move was to isolate the road and replace the whole 6-inch pipe. The current plan is to put in a temporary line and get water back online.
READ MORE:Roseland residents face water outage due to chemical burns on water main
