The City of Franklin issued a statement Tuesday regarding the status of their water system and said the city is now under a Boil Water Advisory.
The statement reads, “Our water system is in violation of drinking water requirements. As our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we did (are doing) to correct this situation.
We are required to monitor your drinking water for turbidity (cloudiness) on a continuous basis (every 15 minutes) and report such results to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). This tells us whether we are effectively filtering the water supply. The Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) requires our treated water to meet 0.349 Nephelometric Treatment Units (NTUs) or less in 95 percent of the measurements per month and never exceed a maximum allowable turbidity limit of 1.499 NTUs at any time.
During the November and January, February, and March 2025 compliance monitoring periods, the Franklin Water System was in violation of the Surface Water Treatment Rule. The violation occurred because the Franklin Water System treated water turbidity level exceeded the maximum allowable limit of 1.499 Nephelometric Treatment Units (NTUs) five times in January 2025, three times in February 2025, and eight times in March 2025. The combined filter effluent turbidity was 11 NTU on January 4, 2025, 6.46 NTU on January 10, 2025, 7.73 NTU on March 26, 2025, 11.28 NTU on March 27, 2025, and 5.36 NTU on March 28, 2025.
Additionally, the violation occurred because the treated water turbidity level exceeded 0.349 NTU in over 5% percent of the treated water monthly measurements in January, February, and March 2025. Additionally, the violation occurred because the Franklin Water System did not report the exceedances greater than 5% of the treated water monthly measurements to LDH within 48 hours.
What should I do?
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
If you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor. If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care providers about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
What does this mean?
Tests taken during the timeframe of the violations did not indicate the presence of bacteria in the water.
Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. These symptoms, however, are not just associated with disease-causing organisms in drinking water, but also may be caused by a number of factors other than your drinking water. EPA and LDH has set enforceable requirements for treating drinking water to reduce the risk of these adverse health effects. Treatment such as filtering and disinfecting the water removes or destroys microbiological contaminants. Drinking water which is treated to meet EPA and LDH requirements is associated with little to none of this risk, and should be considered safe.
What is being done?
Action has been taken to prevent the violation from recurring. New turbidimeters were installed at the Franklin Water Plant on March 13, 2025. Operators at the Franklin Water Plant are currently waiting on a technician from HACH to service and clean the glassware in the new meters.
For more information please contact Jordan Musso, Operator in Charge, at 337-828-6340.”