Jefferson Parish waterworks crews are working to build up water pressure on the Eastbank after repairing a massive water main break in Old Jefferson.
On Tuesday, a water main burst near the intersection of the Jefferson Highway and Shrewsbury Road, about a block from the Jefferson Parish Water Plant. That break flooded and collapsed parts of the highway, forcing officials to close it. The line break also reduced water flow in local faucets to a trickle as water pressure dipped to near zero.
Now that the burst line has been repaired, parish leaders say they're working as best they can to rebuild water pressure and bring an end to the boil advisory caused by that break.
"Other than the Louisiana Department of Health, we're the only parish that has our own testing lab," Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told WWL's Tommy Tucker. "We work in coordination with LDH, obviously, but we have the ability to test it ourselves."
Lee Sheng says because the parish has its own lab, the parish can move more quickly to determine if the water is safe for consumption without boiling. However, Lee Sheng says it will take some time before those tests can begin.
"We need the pressure to build back up, which is going to happen today," Lee Sheng said.
Lee Sheng noted that parish leaders are working to prevent another water main break like this from happening again.
"We're going to the oldest places throughout the parish first to do replacement on the sewer and water front," Lee Sheng said.
She noted that waterworks officials find and repair water line breaks every single day. That, Lee Sheng says, gives parish officials an idea of what water lines need to be replaced first.
"We do know the really troubled spots in the parish, and obviously, those are the first 70 projects we're trying to get out," Lee Sheng said.
How long will this replacement work last?
"We'll be in this mode for 20 years, and we're paying for it. The citizens are paying for it," Lee Sheng said.
