ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — After years of complaints of water issues in several parts of St. Tammany Parish, $48 million in upgrades are coming, Parish President Mike Cooper announced Tuesday.
He said the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan and the parish will use it for three separate projects to improve water quality in the east and west parts of the parish.
"We just use bottled water for everything," said Sherry Roberts who lives in Turtle Creek in Slidell. She hasn't drunk water from her home since 2016.
"The neighborhood continued to develop and some of the neighborhoods around here expanded as well. That's when we started noticing water issues," she said. "You'd notice this brown ring around the tub."
She blames the shower water for her skin issues.
"Itchy scalp, patches of dryness, bumps, itches and irritation, burning on our skin," Roberts said. "When we go out of town it goes away and when we come back, here it comes again."
The parish said the water is tested regularly and is safe to drink.
"I don't trust them. I go by what I see in my glass," Roberts said.
Parish President Mike Cooper admits the parish's water and sewer infrastructure needs updating.
"It's well overdue and needed at this time," he said during the announcement Tuesday.
The $48 million investment will be split between three projects.
"All three projects are focused on creating resiliency, consolidating water systems, and upgrading water quality across our parish," he said.
One project is a $20.2 million West St. Tammany Wastewater Consolidation project. It will benefit 6,400 residents and businesses and includes seven new sewer lift stations, nearly five miles of new sewer force main, nine new generators for lift stations and remote monitoring technology. This project will eliminate eight existing wastewater treatment plants from neighborhoods. An interactive map for that project can be found here.
$20.4 million will go towards Phase 2 of the East Slidell Regional Water Consolidation project. That includes two new elevated water towers, approximately eight miles of new water main, two generators and remote monitoring technology. The project impacts more than 10,000 citizens in the Cross Gates and River Oaks subdivisions, as well as S&J RV Park, Tammany Mobile Home Park and Trading Post 1. An interactive map can be found here.
That project will impact where Roberts lives.
"You want to get excited but it's kind of like disappointment too, how much longer is it going to take?" she said.
Phase One of those improvements was announced last year and construction will begin this summer.
"Once we get started this summer I would say it'll be two, two and a half years," Cooper said.
The West St. Tammany Water System Improvements will benefit more than 10,000 homeowners in Faubourg Coquille, Bedico Creek and Madisonville Woods areas. It includes a filtration system to improve water quality, a new water tower, system interconnects and more than five miles of water main.
The $21.3 million project has been partly funded with $5 million from Water Sector Program (state ARPA funds), and $2.5 million in Parish ARPA funds. St. Tammany Parish Government is awaiting approval of the remaining funding from other state sources. An interactive map for this project can be found here.
Cooper said it would take several years to complete these projects, but said they are on a short timeline since they have to spend the money on the projects by the end of 2026.
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