Parts of Lafayette, including downtown and UL, under boil water advisory - The Advocate

Parts of Lafayette, including downtown and UL, under boil water advisory | News | theadvocate.com

Parts of Lafayette, including downtown and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, are under a boil water advisory after a waterline was damaged during a drainage project.

The advisory applies to a large region of the city that spans north of South College Road, south of Willow Street, west of East Pinhook Road and east of Bertrand Drive, according to a news release from the Lafayette Utilities System.

About 9,000 LUS residential and business customers are affected, LUS spokesperson Heidi Tweedel said. Those customers will need to vigorously boil water for at least one full minute prior to drinking water, making ice, brushing teeth, rinsing food or using water in food preparation. The one minute starts after water has been brought to a rolling boil.

The advisory will remain in effect until water pressure is normalized and water samples are cleared by the Louisiana Department of Health, which is expected to happen late Friday or early Saturday.

A waterline was damaged Thursday morning during a downtown drainage project at the corner of Convent and St. John streets, Tweedel said. Repairs are expected to be completed late Thursday or early Friday, she said.

Once the waterline is repaired, LUS will conduct samples at an in-house water lab that is accredited by the Health Department. The process takes a minimum of 24 hours, Tweedel said, so the boil advisory will remain in effect through at least Friday afternoon or possibly Saturday morning.

Seven public schools are located in the affected area.

Myrtle Place Elementary dismissed early Thursday due to the break in the waterline. The school will be in session Friday, according to a news release by the Lafayette Parish School System.

Baranco Elementary, W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center, E.J. Sam Accelerated School, LeRosen Preparatory, Paul Breaux Middle and Lafayette Middle remained in session Thursday and will be in session Friday. Bottled water and meals will be served to students at all schools affected by the boil advisory. Students are also encouraged to bring a bottle of water to school if possible. The water system remains operational, so restrooms will be functioning as normal.

As a result of the advisory, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office activated protocols at its correctional facilities downtown and on Willow Street to ensure the health and safety of offenders and staff, according to a news release from the agency. Protocols include providing safe drinking water to offenders and temporarily switching all offenders to meals which do not require any water in their preparation.

Tweedel encouraged LUS customers to visit lus.org/map to get up-to-date information on the advisory and determine which homes and businesses are affected. Customers can also opt in to notifications to be alerted when the boil advisory is lifted.