SLIDELL, La. — Both the St. Tammany Parish Council and the administration say they want to work with each other to find solutions to residents’ concerns about the water supply, but in the process, there’s a divide, which has residents stuck in the middle.
“I find this incredibly frustrating,” said one St. Tammany Parish resident who addressed parish council members Monday night.
Folks from Slidell neighborhoods pleaded with the council’s utility workgroup to fix what they say is dirty and contaminated water and the reason for their medical conditions.
“My children and my neighbor have rashes and sores on their bodies and myself suffering from bladder problems with started on March 31, 2021,” said St. Tammany Parish Resident Jennifer Schenck.
Council members say there’s not much they can do, since the parish ran water utility, Tammany Utilities, falls under the direction of Parish President Mike Cooper, who was criticized for not being at Monday’s meeting.
“We on the council know that many, many times this parish president just doesn’t want to hear things,” said District 12 councilman Jerry Binder during that Monday meeting.
In a letter to the parish council Wednesday, Cooper called the meeting an “embarrassment,” saying he wasn’t invited, although he sent notice no one from his administration would be there because of what he called public humiliation. His letter calls for a public apology from the council.
“There needs to be a public apology, a public apology from the parish president,” said Binder after receiving the letter.
Binder, who is also the council chairman, says Cooper’s handling of a major sewage leak last Spring in the Cross Gates area is the problem. A recent Eyewitness News investigation brought it to light. It all happened next to a drinking water main that lost power and dropped pressure, impacting thousands of people
“Which all put the public health, safety, and welfare of citizens at possible risk,” said Binder. “With all of these things occurring, no boil water advisory was ever called.”
Cooper maintains there was no cross-contamination and that tests prove it but attempts to work with the council have been rejected. He also doesn’t believe residents’ medical conditions are caused by the water and instead of figuring it out, says the council is using residents as “political pawns.”
“The parish must protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. The parish council has a duty to protect the residents. We are your constituents,” said St. Tammany Parish resident David Binder.
Residents just want answers.
“There’s a severe lack of transparency in what is happening with the water system,” said one resident.
A chlorine flush, to disinfect the water system, will begin April 25th and last about two months.
In his letter to the council, Cooper says the flush is unnecessary and will cost about $150,000. There’s also a nearly $23 million, federally funded, project on the way to upgrade the water system.