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Ferriday to Build New Water Plant, Drill New Wells
07/02/09 - 05:07 PM
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The Town of Ferriday has been under a water boil advisory all summer long but now it seems a plan is in place to make the town’s water drinkable again.

News Channel 5’s Joel Massey has been covering the story and has the latest.

Ferriday’s boil advisory has been in place since May when the Department of Health and Hospitals found that the roof of town’s only water storage tank had collapsed and was exposed to the elements.

Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin tells me that new water tanks will be built at the treatment plant.  When they’re completed in two to three months - according to the mayor - Ferriday will finally be off the water boil.  The old plant is in bad shape and money will also have to be spent to keep it in operation.  The long term plan is to build a new plant at the current site and to drill new wells. 

McGlothin said, “We’re going to draw up this long range plan draw up a new plant I would rather drill wells.  My idea is to get out of the river because we’ll never make good water out of Old River.”

Surface water from the Old River oxbow has proven to be a poor quality water source. But the mayor says that the town is to blame for neglecting the plant’s upkeep.

McGlothin said, “There have been times that the town was derelict in their duty during a couple of administrations.  Folks just did not do due diligence on the water plant and if you don’t keep a surface water plant up you’ve got problems so after 20 years of beating this dead horse we’re going to try to build a new one because that’s the only way out for Ferriday to have good water.”

To get the project started the town is putting up $200,000 and is working on getting a million dollars in emergency funds from federal and state grants.  McGlothin says the town wasted millions keeping the old plant running.

“We’re a poor town.  We’re a small town.  We’ve lost $6 million on that water plant.  That’s not state money that’s town of Ferriday money.  Just think of the highways, the streets, the recreation all that I could have.  We’re actually losing 300 thousand dollars a year on that water plant and we’re finally going to come to the end I hope.”

Until the boil advisory is lifted Ferriday residents are getting their drinkable water from portable tanks filled every day by the National Guard.

The mayor says the new plant should take about three years to complete and he hopes to get 75 percent of it paid for by grant money.