NEW ORLEANS — In your Breakdown: Orleans Parish earns a “D” water system grade and Port Sulphur is tied for worst in the state.
The Department of Health released its water grades based on 2023 data, and some tap water improved while others got much worse.
Some quick background:
LDH looks at seven standards for the water grade. They include federal water quality, state violations, financial sustainability, operation and maintenance, infrastructure, customer satisfaction, and secondary contaminants. The analysis then deducts points from 100 to determine a score.
LDH says 53 percent of Louisianans live in an ‘A-grade’ water system. 75 percent of the states live in an ‘A or B-grade’ water system.
Below are the worst water report cards for Southeast Louisiana. We included the grades for both 2022 and 2023 so you can see the change.
Orleans’ Carrollton Waterworks went from a C grade to a D. Plaquemines Parish declined across the board, with two water systems receiving an F.
The Port Sulphur Water System received only 26 of 100 points; tied with a system in Bossier Parish for worst in the state. You’ll remember the salt wedge crisis of last summer left Plaquemines Parish struggling to provide clean water.
There was some notable improvement in St. Tammany Parish, with Giving Hope Retreat, Central Park Subdivision, and Pearl Plantation Townhomes all improving. The village of Tangipahoa's Water system went from a ‘D’ to an ‘A.’
What does it mean if your water system got a D or an F?
LDH says a bad grade doesn’t necessarily mean your water is unhealthy or unsafe. Still, there are – quote – “significant concerns with long-term viability” of that water system, and it needs major upgrades.
SWB released the following statement:
“Many of the point deductions we received to our letter grade reflect an Administrative Order, which our Board of Directors and Leadership Team have addressed with State training earlier this year. There are also unresolved deficiencies related to our older turbines, which will be addressed with the future Power Complex, slated to come online by mid-2025. Currently, our utility is currently undertaking a Water Quality Master Plan, which will address the overall needs of our water treatment plant, which has not had a meaningful investment since the 1950s. The LDH also cited a lack of rate study for point deductions, which we will hope to be able to publicly address as we look at the future financial needs of our utility.”
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