METAIRIE, La. — The busted water main that happened on the east bank of Jefferson Parish has been repaired and water should be flowing again sometime later Wednesday.
The water pressure is likely to stay low for a few hours with areas near the water plant the first to return to more normal flow.
The huge water main break near the parish’s east bank water plant initially had the parish asking people to conserve water but soon the magnitude of the problem became apparent with residents receiving a boil water advisory and many on social media reporting low to no water pressure in their homes for showering or washing dishes and clothes.
Despite the successful repair, the boil advisory remains in effect until it can be tested, likely at least a 24-hour process.
Sidney Bazley JP Water Department Director says the water main break was fixed early Wednesday. "It’s going to take a few hours, the pressure will start around the plant and then move throughout the east bank," he told Leigha McNeil on the WWL Louisiana Morning News.
Bazley said water pressure will build back up slowly because if they build it up quickly there could potentially be more water line breaks.
“While it's making that quick decision last night, we were able to get it repaired by five this morning,” said Bazley.
“And we are where we are now getting the pressure back up. Because we don't want to break more lines out in the field, if we slammed the system with too much pressure, we're going to have broken mains everywhere. So, our plan is to gradually turn one pump at a time to gradually pick up the pressure so we can safely get the water back on.”
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said at a media briefing Wednesday that the water pipe likely busted because it is an old water pipe possibly laid in the 1940s.
"We are still under a boil water advisory for the next 24 hours," Sheng said.
The news comes as nearly a quarter of a million people were without reliable water on the east bank of Jefferson Parish early Wednesday caused schools to close, residents to rely on bottled water and improvised showering, and the international airport to turn to portable toilets for its thousands of travelers.
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