The City of Opelousas, Louisiana, US, is investing $17 million (€14.9 million) into its water system infrastructure to improve water quality for nearly 6,500 customers.
The funding comes from Louisiana’s Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRLF) programme and will be put towards upgrades to water mains and service lines, rehabilitation of water wells located inside the city’s limits as well as south of the city, and the replacement of ground storage tanks. The DWRLF was created to assist public water systems in financing drinking water infrastructure improvements, supporting public health and safe drinking water initiatives.
Notably, the project will include replacing an existing ground storage tank and the installation of a new companion storage tank at the Med South wellsite. Both tanks can hold up to 84,000 gallons, which will provide improved pressure and redundancy within the water system.
Project engineer William H Jarrell III says, ‘This is a substantial project that will make improvements throughout the distribution system of the City of Opelousas, and the results will reduce leaks by replacing existing deteriorated water mains and service lines, create better pressure flows, and identify and reduce unaccounted for water loss.’
