Mayor Says Stop Dripping
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor is urging city water system customers to stop dripping their faucets immediately in order to preserve water pressure.
Alsandor said in a Tuesday statement posted on a city social media page that the city has continued to experience an overall serious strain on the municipal water supply.
Discontinuing faucet dripping, Alsandor wrote, will help reduce the problem of supplying water to all customers.
“If residents and businesses continue dripping water it will severely impact the water supply, especially for places that rely on it the most, such as medical facilities, assisted living centers, shelters and emergency services,” Alsandor wrote in his social media statement posted on Tuesday.
Alsandor posted a similar statement on Monday before the temperatures during the night in Opelousas dipped below 20 degrees.
The media statements by Alsandor on Monday and again on Tuesday drew hundreds of comments.
Many of those commenting wrote that they are reluctant to comply with the request to halt dripping pipes due to fears that shutting off water will result in pipe ruptures that will result in costly plumber bills.
Others complained that the pervasive water leaks throughout the city are already contributing to daily water pressure loss, even without the cold weather.
“There’s no need for dripping faucets when you can collect (water) in the street for free,” wrote James Duplechain, who alluded to the water that emerges from leaks.
Sherry Guidry wrote that if pipes break, customers should send water repair bills to the city.
Several of those commenting however explained how water pipes can be saved by shutting off the water at the main valve.
Some of those contributing posts even explained how to proceed with a procedure that cuts off water and how to turn it back on.
Many of those who commented pointed to the water leaks on West Vine street as examples of how the city is losing water pressure on a daily basis.
Marlin Jones suggested that the city follow a procedure already instituted by the Town of Basile.
Jones reminded those commenting that perhaps the city should decide to shut off city water at a certain time each night and then turn the water back on early during the morning hours.
Several of those commenting pointed out that they continue to experience “brown water” problems at their residences.
One person faulting the brown water issue posted a photo of a bathtub full of brown water, presumably at a residence.
“When the water stops being brown then maybe we will think about (dripping faucets),” she wrote.
