By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Water samples taken earlier this month in St. John the Baptist Parish’s Water District 1 tested negative for the presence of Naegleria fowleri ameba, Department of Heath and Hospitals officials announced Friday.

Upon detection of the ameba Aug. 27, DHH issued an Emergency Order requiring the parish to perform a free-chlorine burn — maintaining 1.0 mg/l of free chlorine throughout the system for 60 days —in efforts to kill the ameba within the system.

Water District 1 serves six parish schools and more than 12,500 people in Reserve, Garyville, Mt. Airy and a small portion of LaPlace.

DHH ruled St. John Parish successfully completed its required chlorine burn for St. John Water District 1 on Nov. 20, and on Dec. 3 a follow-up water sample was taken.

DHH Chief Deputy Engineer Caryn Benjamin said Friday’s news is only one step in St. John Parish being taken off of the Emergency Order, and impacted residents should continue to exercise caution in water use.

“The Emergency Order is still in place, and will be in place for at least 12 months after completion of all action items,” Benjamin said.

Two additional rounds of water sampling and analysis — with the first taking place around May when water temperatures start to rise and the second taking place sometime after the summer, probably in September — are important, future tests for the parish and Water District 1 to pass, Benjamin said.

DHH will conduct the future tests and monitor to ensure adequate disinfectant levels are found in all parish water systems.

After the May and September rounds of sampling, DHH will “revisit the parish’s compliance history and a 12-month clock would start,” Benjamin said about a timeline to lift the Emergency Order.

The timeline means the Emergency Order would be lifted nearly two years after it was first issued, assuming all action items are completed and all testing is passed.

While the water in Water District 1 remains safe to drink, Benjamin said residents should continue to adhere to safety protocol, including avoiding water entering deep into nasal passages and running bath and shower taps and hoses for five minutes before use to flush out the pipes.

Those precautions should continue until the Emergency Order is lifted, Benjamin said.

Parish officials said the Utilities Department will continue with a 1.0 mg/l free chlorine treatment plan and switch back to a chloramine system after Jan. 1, adding residents will be notified of the switch to chloramine in advance.

Benjamin said DHH regulations allow the switch back to a chloramine system, and requires the parish give residents a week’s notice of the change.

“Anytime you change a disinfectant protocol, there will be chemical changes in the water,” Benjamin said, adding the switch will lead to taste and smell changes in the water that residents will notice.

She added, however, the changes would not be as severe as when the burn process began.

“We want to thank our residents for their patience and cooperation and reassure them that we will continue our all-out efforts to ensure this never happens again,” Parish President Natalie Robottom said of the parish’s water safety.

Parish Council Chairman Marvin Perrilloux, who represents District IV, said Friday’s announcement was wonderful news for the parish, adding it is imperative for adequate disinfectant levels in the water to be maintained from here on out.

Perrilloux said the Council will remain focused on water-related issues going into the new year, with a study on water treatment improvements underway. He said the Council is still focused on the resignation of Director of Utilities Virgil Rayneri.

The Council voted unanimously Oct. 28 requesting Robottom ask for Rayneri’s resignation.

“The Council is still strong on that,” Perrilloux said Monday. “We’re not letting down.”

Perrilloux said the Council will ask Robottom again to request the resignation.