FERRIDAY, La. (KTVE/KARD) – Thursday, June 23, 2022, Ferriday Mayor Rydell Turner and the Board of Alderpersons declared the town under a state of emergency due to a major equipment failure at their water plant, according to the Ferriday Police Department.
The water plant pump failure has caused low production of water for its residents for the last couple of days.
Mary Orcutt, a local resident, says she has experienced worse things than this.
“That’s kinda rough for me and my guests. It’s not good,” Orcutt said. “But we’ve had it worse than this, baby.”
The Ferriday Police Department says until further notice, residents won’t have water from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Monday through Sunday. This is to give the pump more pressure overnight.
Now, residents have been without water for almost four days in these hot temperatures.
“I don’t know how long it is going to last, people are gonna have to get used to it I guess,” said Willie Mccoy, another local resident. “People are gonna be buying bottles of water, and start using it for their tub, food with a pot, or something.”
“Take your bath and shower early, and then be done with it. So if you have to get up at 6 o’clock and go to work, you made sure you already got your bath at night time,“ Orcutt said.
City officials say the water pump failure is also affecting The Village of Ridgecrest.
Officials hope all citizens conserve water by only using it for essential needs. Mary Orcutt tells KTVE she remains hopeful that the town will recover from this.
“You gotta be a teamwork. You can’t complain about the little things. We’ve been through worse things than this, but they are all doing the best they can,” Orcutt said.
Officials say the pump is currently being repaired, and the water shut-offs will continue until further notice.
They went on to say the town will receive assistance from the State and Homeland Security.
Ferriday Police said water buffalos will be set up in various locations, with one location on Maryland Avenue, and E.E. Wallace Boulevard.
Mayor Turner has also requested bottled water for the town, which has yet to arrive.