Louisiana Town Deals With 'Vomit' Tap Water

By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje

Residents of a small town in Louisiana are horrified by what’s coming out of their faucets.

St. Joseph, a town of just over 1,200 people, has dark brown tap water running through its tap.

“Pictures posted online of chalky, dirt-brown water in bathtubs, washing machines, and sinks present a sickening image of what they mean,” ATTN reported.

Local resident Garrett Boyte described the problem like this, per The News-Star: "Normally, it’s a light yellow. In the past four days it has changed.”

The new color is dark brown.

“The ‘water’ in the pictures above looks like watered-down vomit. No matter whose fault this is, it’s unacceptable,” said one commenter, who saw pictures of the water on Episcopal Café.

“Boyte said he called the state Department of Health and Hospitals who indicated well water samples taken at St. Joseph met the Environmental Protection Agency's minimal standards for quality,” The News-Star reported.

A state health officer says the water is safe to drink.

“Their complaints certainly have risen because of Flint, but it’s not a lead issue; it’s an iron issue, which is not a health issue. But it’s obviously not the water people want to see coming out of their faucets,” Jimmy Guidry, state health officer, told The Advocate in an interview.

A fix may be coming to St. Joseph. The state had petitioned for federal funding, and the U.S. EPA began looking into the issue.

“Gov. John Bel Edwards earlier this week ordered the state to start working with EPA, St. Joseph and Tensas Parish officials to resolve the issue,” the report said.

Guidry, the health official, says years of testing show no lead contamination. Additional tests are expected this summer.

“We normally test in the summer because lead shows up more when it’s warm,” Guidry said, per The Advocate.

For similar stories, visit Water Online’s Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.

Image credit: Photo posted to Episcopal Café and taken by Garrett Boyte, a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana