BB water ‘best in state’

Karl Jeter
karl.jeter@techetoday.com

Breaux bridge – City Public Works Director Randy “Crip” Cormier says he doesn’t like to brag, but he’s willing to make an exception in this case. That’s understandable, because the Breaux Bridge water system has won two prestigious state-wide awards.
In a July 20 ceremony in Lake Charles, the Louisiana Rural Water Assn. (LRWA) Southern Division presented the city water system their highest awards for 2016 in both water taste and system efficiency. Cormier said that credit for the accomplishment comes down to two main factors.
One thing, he said, is the well-recognized talent, determination and effort of city engineer Chris Richard, of Domingue and Szabo, which is the company that designed the plant. It first entered service in 1963.
Cormier said that Richard has taken numerous innovative steps over the years to incrementally improve the water plant and distribution system that have brought it to an ever-increasing level of efficiency in energy use, water savings and quality.
Mayor Ricky Calais told the Teche News that when you can combine Richards expertise with proper plant operation and constant testing by a motivated group of plant personnel like water plant supervisor Neil Angelle, and plant operators David Guidry and Pat Guidry, the results are award winning water that the residents of Breaux Bridge residents can use with confidence.
Cormier explained that another factor contributing to the high quality of the city’s water is the fact that it is cleaner when it gets to the plant. As compared to surface-water systems, the Chicot Aquifer well water used by the Breaux Bridge system is easier and quicker to prepare for use.
This was the first year that the city entered its water in the LRWA taste test. The Breaux Bridge system earned an award in 2015 for water conservation and reuse.
Credit for that award, Cormier said, can also mostly be attributed to Chris Richard. He designed a settling tank system that retains and retreats the backwash water used to flush the system’s filters. That water, about 40,000 gallons every three days, was formerly dumped into the Bayou Teche.
Public works Superintendent Tammy Dugas said that in the 18 years since she started work at the plant, operating efficiency has increased markedly. Automation and other upgrades have allowed the running time of the system to be decreased from 24 hours per day to the present 12 hour per day schedule.