St. Mary Parish, Did You Get The Letter About Your Water And Are You Mad?

A recent visit to the post office sent me into concern about a letter from St. Mary Parish Waterworks District No. 5.  The letter started off, "The St. Mary Parish Water District 5 water supply is in violation."  Being from that area and having property there now since the passing of my parents, I was somewhat alarmed.

The letter states:

The St. Mary Parish Water District 5 water supply is in violation for not monitoring for chlorite as set forth by the State [Part XII of the Louisiana State Sanitary Code (LAC 51:XII)] and the Federal Primary Drinking Water Regulation (40 CFR Part 141).

We are required to monitor your drinking water for disinfection byproducts, such as chlorite, monthly in the distribution system.  Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether of not you drinking water meets health standards.  The violation occurred because non-compliance was determined as a result of failure to take a three sample set in the month October.  Therefore, we cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time and a monitoring violation has been assessed against our public water system.

This violation happened in October.  In the month of October you and your family were bathing, showering, drinking and giving your pets water that could not be deemed SAFE.

This material is dated February 1, 2017.  If you have any concerns, please call the St. Mary Parish Water District 5 Water Plant at (337) 836-5831.