FAQ

No. The Independent Audit that was performed was very thorough. While it uncovered some recordkeeping and documentation issues, no issues related to water quality were found.

For information about the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish drinking water, you can download the annual Consumer Confidence Report which can be found here.

The pH of water refers to its acidity or alkalinity and is expressed in terms of a numerical scale from 0 to 14. Seven (7) on this scale means that the water is neither acidic nor alkaline. For values less than 7, the smaller the number, the more acidic it is. For values greater than 7, the larger the number, the more alkaline it is. The pH balance of the drinking water served the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish occurs naturally in the 7.6 to 9.2 range. This means that the water ranges from being neutral to somewhat alkaline. Due to the water being somewhat alkaline in some limited areas of the water distribution system, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish increases its Residual Chlorine levels pursuant to state and federal regulations to make sure effective chlorination is maintained at all times.

The Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply is taken from the groundwater aquifers, which are like natural underground "lakes.” Those sources have naturally occurring levels of Sodium at varying concentrations. If you have a diagnosed medical problem for which your doctor has prescribed a low sodium diet, it is recommended that you first focus reducing the sodium in your food diet because, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the EPA, “most American adults tend to consume between 4,000 and 6,000 mg of sodium per day” and “therapeutic sodium restricted diets can range from below 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg per day.”

If your food consumption of Sodium is within your doctor’s prescribed range and you are concerned about the Sodium in the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply, it is recommended that you either drink bottled water or install an under-the-sink water filtration system, as discussed below. The most current Sodium data on Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply can be found here.

As noted above, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply is taken from the groundwater aquifers, which are like natural underground "lakes.” Those sources may have naturally occurring, trace concentrations of Lead at levels that are well below any levels of concern. The Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish does not use Lead in any part of its water distribution system. If there is Lead in the drinking water coming out of the faucet in your home, it is likely coming from lead-based solder used to join copper pipe or from brass and chrome-plated brass faucets in your home that can wear away over time and release lead.

The Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish believes the water it provides is perfectly safe and does not need any further treatment because it meets all applicable primary drinking water standards. This was recently confirmed by the Independent Auditor. However, if you would like to experience an extra level of comfort, some steps you can take include installing an under-the- sink water filtration system. Such filtration systems can range from simple granular activated carbon filtration to reverse-osmosis filtration systems. There are numerous sources on the Internet for purchasing such water filtration system at a reasonable cost.

Yes, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish treats water with an approved Chlorine compound in accordance with all federal and state drinking water regulations and maintains a certain level of Residual Chlorine in accordance with those regulations.

No. As noted above, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply is taken from the groundwater aquifers, which are like natural underground "lake.” Those sources may have naturally occurring, or background, levels of fluoride.

Yes. Every year, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish and the LDHH conduct hundreds of tests on the water source and distribution system to ensure that the water you receive is safe to drink. These tests check for more than 100 different types of contaminants, as required

by the EPA and the LDHH. All final test results show the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish is in full compliance with state and federal standards for safe drinking water. If the water quality tests conducted did not meet state or federal safe drinking water standards, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish would be required by law to immediately notify impacted customers and more importantly, the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish would stop serving that water until it met all federal and state drinking water regulations unless the issue was promptly corrected.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the federal law that governs the quality of drinking water in the United States. Under the SDWA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees state implementation and compliance with those standards.

In Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) is primarily responsible for ensuring that all public and private drinking water suppliers comply with state and federal drinking water standards. The responsibility rests with each water supplier to comply with the standards and the LDHH has primary oversight responsibility for monitoring and enforcing these regulations and the EPA has oversight for ensuring that the LDHH’s fulfills their responsibility under the SDWA.

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) form when Chlorine and other disinfectants react with naturally occurring organic compounds found in the drinking water supply, which in the case of the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply is taken from the groundwater aquifers. The concentration of naturally occurring organic compounds in these drinking water aquifers are very low; thus, the amount of DBPs formed by chlorination will also be very low. However, because long-term exposure to DBPs at concentrations that are much higher than that found in the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply may be harmful to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces regulatory limits for two groups of DBPs linked to potential health risks. Those two groups of DBPs are called Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and five Haloacetic Acids (HAA5). The Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish's water supply has never exceeded the EPA’s Maximum Concentration Limits (MCLs) for either TTHM or HAA5.

Yes. It is actually the EPA’s responsibility to identify and conduct special studies for subpopulations which are at greater risk for contaminants than the general population. If anyone has concerns regarding the presence of any contaminants, naturally occurring compounds or naturally occurring conditions in the water supplied by the Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish, they can contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water (4100T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20460 or call 202-564-5700 to request that EPA conduct a special study for any subpopulations that are at greater risk for potential contaminants in some of the drinking water supplied by the District than the general population of the District’s customers.

A water system change or upgrade can be any improvement to the water supply, storage or distribution system and include anything from upgrading water meters at the customer’s taps with remote telemetry monitoring, replacing older distribution lines with new, larger distribution lines, replacement of old valves with newer, more reliable valves, replacement of water supply flow meters with new, high technology flow meters with remote telemetry monitoring, installation of pressure monitors or drilling and bringing on-line new water wells.