KILLIAN, La. (WAFB) – Officials announced they have rescinded a declaration of emergency related to water issues in Killian.
A boil water advisory for residents in Killian has also been lifted.
The Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness made the announced on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7.
“Parish President Randy Delatte assures residents that Livingston Parish stands ready to assist our communities whenever needed and remains committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens,” officials said in the announcement posted to social media.
The Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness originally announced the emergency declaration on the evening of Saturday, July 4, after the village’s municipal water system suffered a critical failure, leaving residents completely without water service.
System history and current repairs
Chris Anderson, director of the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the water system has a history of problems.
“The Killian town itself used to own the water system there. Back last year, it did a total failure,” Anderson said.
Anderson said Magnolia Water — the company that provides water to Killian — reported pumps were back online as of Monday morning. Low water pressure and additional system problems remain ongoing concerns on Monday evening.
“They’re going in and trying to make repairs with all of the stuff that was damaged already,” Anderson said. “There’s new tanks in place. There’s new filters in place, which is taking all of the iron out of the water and the manganese that used to be the big problem down there before.”
Residents and advocates call for accountability
Residents said the outage was not a surprise. One Killian resident said water bills have increased from $28 to $66.86, while service interruptions continue without notice.
“They don’t tell you when they’re gonna shut the water off. You just wake up one morning, you go to turn the faucet on, and there’s just no water,” the resident said.
Josh Gill, United Cajun Navy incident commander and Killian native, said the situation has been building for years and that residents want a long-term fix.
“It’s tough, you know. It’s tough to live with the uncertainty of having clean water everyday,” Gill said.
Gill said a promise made to the village’s administration by the governor’s office and Magnolia Water has not been kept.
“When the administration of Killian went and met with the governor’s office and met with Magnolia, they gave a promise to that administration that if there was an extended outage or an extended period of time with a boil water advisory, that they would provide us with clean drinking water. They have not,” Gill said. “We’re fed up with it. We’re done.”
What residents can do now
Magnolia Water Company has agreed to attend Killian’s next town hall on July 13 at 6 p.m. The company had not replied to a request for comment as of Monday evening.
Residents are being encouraged to continue to monitor the Livingston Parish of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for official updates.
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