KILLIAN, La. (WAFB) – Officials announced they have rescinded a declaration of emergency related to water issues in Killian.<\/p>\n
A boil water advisory for residents in Killian has also been lifted.<\/p>\n
The Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness made the announced on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7.<\/p>\n
\u201cParish 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,\u201d officials said in the announcement posted to social media.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s municipal water system suffered a critical failure, leaving residents completely without water service.<\/p>\n
System history and current repairs<\/p>\n
Chris Anderson, director of the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the water system has a history of problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Killian town itself used to own the water system there. Back last year, it did a total failure,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
Anderson said Magnolia Water \u2014 the company that provides water to Killian \u2014 reported pumps were back online as of Monday morning. Low water pressure and additional system problems remain ongoing concerns on Monday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going in and trying to make repairs with all of the stuff that was damaged already,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThere\u2019s new tanks in place. There\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents and advocates call for accountability<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t tell you when they\u2019re gonna shut the water off. You just wake up one morning, you go to turn the faucet on, and there\u2019s just no water,\u201d the resident said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough, you know. It\u2019s tough to live with the uncertainty of having clean water everyday,\u201d Gill said.<\/p>\n
Gill said a promise made to the village\u2019s administration by the governor\u2019s office and Magnolia Water has not been kept.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the administration of Killian went and met with the governor\u2019s 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,\u201d Gill said. \u201cWe\u2019re fed up with it. We\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n
What residents can do now<\/p>\n
Magnolia Water Company has agreed to attend Killian\u2019s next town hall on July 13 at 6 p.m. The company had not replied to a request for comment as of Monday evening.<\/p>\n
Residents are being encouraged to continue to monitor the Livingston Parish of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for official updates.<\/p>\n
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