Not so much for more Tammany Utilities water problems
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The first week of the parish directed chlorine burn for the Tammany Utilities water system in eastern Slidell was supposed to start easing tensions between residents there and parish officials who oversee the system.
Tensions only surged in the “parish vs. Cross Gates water” dispute after the first week of the much-anticipated chlorine burn was halted seven days into the process due to a power outage, which will force the system cleansing to start all over.
Accusations quickly were posted by Cross Gates members who claimed the system was completely out of chlorine, the system had “lost sanitation,” and “the water is NOT SAFE,” said one resident in a public e-mail.
While it is Cross Gates subdivision residents who have mainly led the public push for an improved parish-operated water system, the criticism for several years is actually aimed at Tammany Utilities, the system owned and operated by the parish that serves over 2,000 homes in eastern Slidell.
Residents in that area have complained for years about poor water quality, but things came to a head on the Easter, 2021 weekend when the parish confirmed a sewer line leak that residents in the area claimed had infiltrated the water system.
Parish officials paid for a comprehensive study of the system in the months that followed, and Parish President Mike Cooper has vehemently stated there was no cross contamination of the water, even while over a dozen residents posted pictures of skin rashes and reported various internal infections.
The system report by Owen & White consultants pointed to 35 needed improvements and suggested that a chlorine burn to cleanse the system of any possible contamination would “improve public trust,” even though the report did not say it was absolutely necessary.
Cooper publicly complained that the pressure from residents was behind the cash-strapped parish spending $150,000 for the chlorine burn, something he still says is not needed. But trying to quiet the critical voices, the parish began the two-month process on April 25, only to see a power outage this past Saturday night that led to yet more problems.
Newly appointed Tammany Utilities Director Chris Tissue responded to the resident e-mails and completely disagreed with their charges, however, did note various other problems that will make the 60-day burn start all over.
“The power outage had no effect on the Willow Wood well or Cross Gates water system,” he said. “The Steele Road water well had power the entire time of this outage,” and then attached a video showing the generator running both pumps during the outage.
However, Tissue reported that a mechanical failure of the Willow Wood pump led to not one, but two new pumps that both failed to operate properly. He said it was those pump failures that led to the system losing chlorine, not the fact the system was completely out.
“The bleach tanks were not out of bleach as suggested,” he said. “Delta Chemical delivered and filled the tanks with fresh Sodium Hypochlorite on Friday, April 29,” adding that sensors on the tanks ensure workers know if the supply is getting low.
Tissue said the first pump at Willow Wood failed on Saturday at 6:30 a.m., and was replaced with a brand-new pump, which also failed by Sunday at 5 a.m.
He said the parish is looking into “a different manufacturer” to purchase pumps from.
Tissue said the chlorine burn will begin again once the entire system reaches the correct level of free chlorine residual, however, the Boil Water Advisory will be in effect until that time comes.
Meanwhile, various residents fired off e-mails in the aftermath of the weekend problems and continued to highlight issues getting reliable water for their homes.
“Tammany Utilities has been unwilling to provide us with daily residuals during the chlorine burn and is requiring we Public Records Request the residuals,” said Ashley Schenck, one of the outspoken residents. “That won’t work since it will take months.”
Because of the residents not getting a daily report from Tammany Utilities, Schenck said “the residents came together and formed a network and group of samplers using approved meters. We have been posting all of the daily results system wide.”
Tissue is the new director of the parish utilities system after Tim Brown, the former director, came under heavy criticism for some of the problems.
Cooper did recommend the Parish Council use some of the federal funds recently obtained to allocate $14 million to the Tammany Utilities system to correct some of the 35 deficiencies noted in the Owen & White study.