Malfunctioning well leaves entire town without water

KENTWOOD, La. (WAFB) - The first truck has arrived to begin distributing water to Kentwood residents during a town-wide water outage.

According to town officials, water distribution begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, at the back of city hall. Residents should remain in their vehicles and are encouraged to bring extra containers to catch water from barrels.

Mayor Irma Gordon went live on Facebook on Wednesday, Jan. 17, to announce the town’s water would be turned off that night until repairs could be made to the town’s well, which had caused their water pressure to become severely low.

Gordon said residents in town limits who are on the town’s water system will be without water for a couple of days.

“There’s nothing wrong with our drinking water; what’s wrong is a malfunction with our water well. That water well, which was installed 7.5 years ago, is having a malfunction problem,” she explained.

The mayor said they originally thought the town’s water pressure was dropping due to the number of leaks from the very cold weather, but maintenance crews later learned the well was full, and it was a door that opens and closes automatically inside the well that was not working.

Water was shut off, so crews could empty the well and work on fixing the door, she added.

A boil advisory went into effect Wednesday, Jan. 17. Officials encourage households to disinfect the water before consuming or using it once it is restored.

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