Thousands with water problems in Youngsville

YOUNGSVILLE, La. (KLFY)-- Officials distributed water to those in need after thousands of people's water was shut off Wednesday.

At the Youngsville Sports Complex, the city had a truck filled with 6 thousand gallons of water for people to fill their own containers, and they gave each family one case of bottled water.

Mayor Ken Ritter said water was restricted because the Milton water system had challenges, requiring LUS to scale back its wholesale customers. The majority of Youngsville gets its water from this LUS wholesale agreement. 

Youngsville was under a boil advisory, then the LUS system was restricted even further, "pinching back" water to 5,700 customers in Youngsville. 

"That low pressure ended up going to no pressure at about 4 o’clock, as LUS scaled back the water to Youngsville," Ritter said. "Pressure started resuming about 10:30 pm when LUS allowed us to start getting some minimal pressures." 

Although water is back on, Ritter said it may take up to 7 days to fully stabilize the system and get pressure levels back to normal. 

"We’ll continue to provide water as long as we can, as the residents need," Ritter said. "This is in response to making sure our residents have water to take care of their basic needs."

Lisa Mallery was one taking care of her family's basic needs Thursday at the water distribution, filling an ice chest with water. 

“We have 4 kids at home, so everyone needs showers. Everyone needs to flush," Mallery said. "We have dishes that need to be washed, clothes that need to be washed.” 

Mallery also said she is unsure how they will celebrate her daughter's 7th birthday this Saturday, since the water is predicted to take days to fully recover. 

Mayor Ritter urges residents to conserve water. 

"That way we can rebuild the pressure across the entire LUS system and get back to normalcy as quickly as possible," Ritter said.