The company says the water on the North Monroe Water System tested high for haloacetic acids.
The state requires the company to send out notices when they’re in violation of chemical limits.
Jeff McNew, from Greater Ouachita Water, says the high levels come from their testing in August at the Parrot’s Beak test site.
He says when water is hotter, it speeds up chemical reactions and can result in more haloacetic acid.
He says they test four sites on the North Monroe Water System in February, May, August, and November.
That affects people like those living in Sterlington, who say they’re always having issues with the water.
“Since we’ve lived here it has, not to the point where we’re like ‘Oh My Gosh’ we’re going to move and not touch our water, but we always have something going on with it,” says Meredith Kolb McNew says the four water tests they take throughout the year are averaged, and if the average is over the limit of 60 parts per million (ppm), the state requires the company to notify people by mail or by the newspaper.
The state does not require the company to notify residents if the results of one test during the year have high contaminant levels.
Jeff McNew says the company is only required by the state to notify when the average of the four tests is too high.
After August, crews test again in November, “we took samples again in the fourth quarter, and the levels were already back to normal,” says McNew.