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Central mayor outlines safety procedures for residents experiencing 'brown water'

6 years 4 months 4 days ago Wednesday, November 22 2017 Nov 22, 2017 November 22, 2017 11:38 AM November 22, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

CENTRAL - A water war is still raging on in Central. Residents in the area say their water is still coming out brown. But the health officials and the city's mayor says the water is not dangerous.

Donna Sutton is one of the many residents unable to bathe, wash clothes or drink the brown water.

After months of complaints, residents got a response during a meeting Monday with more than 25 affected homeowners. The Department of Health, Baton Rouge Water Company and Central mayor Junior Shelton were all in attendance.

The water company said the brown water is due to old pipes, sediment buildup and change in the velocity of the workload in the system.

"Our major concern right now is what's in that water, and what is harmful and what is not," Shelton told WBRZ. "For me, today, I heard that while it's alarming to look at, the chances of something harmful in there...is pretty low." 

The DHH got to see first-hand the sediment in the water and did some testing of its own. Health officials say, so far, the sediment levels are within acceptable parameters. 

Shelton says a solution is still needed, regardless of the test results.

"It doesn't excuse the fact we have brown water, it doesn't excuse the fact that our residents are responsible for flushing it out. But at least we're getting some answers about why it's there," Shelton said.

On Wednesday, the mayor said that Central is experiencing "allowable" levels of manganese in the water, advising that residents use a filtration system or bottled water.

Shelton says he's now reaching out to the office of Congressman Garret Graves for federal support.

Click HERE to see the mayor's full statement, along with the results of recent tests of the water system.

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