MAUREPAS — Clean water is something most people just expect to come out of their taps. For many areas in Livingston Parish, it’s been an ongoing concern over their discolored water and whether it’s safe to consume.
Residents in Maurepas are now questioning why they’re paying higher rates for water that runs anywhere from pale yellow-brown to a dark roux color.
“We’ve had clear-ish water I would say maybe 10 days total—or you know maybe a little bit more than that—generously in the whole year that we’ve lived here,” said a frustrated resident, Miranda Verbois. She told UWK that she previously lived about 10 minutes “up the road” and never experienced water discoloration as bad as what she now regularly deals with.
She added that her neighbors, who’ve lived along Gunboat Landing Road longer, have been dealing with this issue even longer than her family. There’s only a small number of them who have their own well water, she said.
“To be honest, I’m just tired of going to run a bath, and it looks like the water behind my house. Like I live on a canal, and the water in the canal is almost clearer than the water that’s in my bathtub right now.”
They have submitted multiple requests to Utilities Inc. of Louisiana, which is the local water system provider. Before Utilities Inc., the system was run by French Settlement Water Company. Just last week, Verbois and her neighbors said they emailed the Public Service Commission about the rate increases while seeing poor water quality.
Those requests are doing nothing, she says.
UWK has reached out to both Utilities Inc. of Louisiana and the Louisiana Department of Health in regards to the water situation. As of publication time, neither have responded.
Aside from the discolored water that leaves grit and sediment in their tubs and sinks, Verbois said they’re dealing with the added insult of paying higher bills for this water. She said bills went from being $17 to a current rate of $32 monthly. The changes came after the French Settlement Water Company merged into Utilities Inc. of Louisiana, and according to information Verbois and others received, the rate changes were “to recover its necessary and prudent operating costs and the substantial investment UIL has made that makes it makes the water and sewer infrastructure that serves you.” This includes a new sewage system, treatment plant, infrastructure, thousands of feet of water and sewer main installation, and well improvements, according to the letter.
“I guess they’re just basically saying that due to the fantastic water quality that we’re getting and that we’re receiving, we need to be happy that they are raising our rates because they’re continuing to serve us with the utmost best service that they possibly can,” she said sarcastically.
Expensive problems & expensive solutions
Verbois’ family has already replaced a water heater and washing machine in the year that they’ve been living in their home, she said. Other appliances are starting to wear down, too.
White clothes are a no-go in the house because washing them means that the clothes get stained. Even bedding has had to be replaced due to the water leaving stains.
“When we first moved in, I had like the hotel comforter and the white sheets and all of this stuff, and put it in the washer to have it washed over the weekend one weekend. And it came out and looked like I had dyed it brown. So, you know, everybody’s school uniforms get ruined. The khaki shorts and everything—you can’t wash anything unless you know for sure that the water is like clearer than most days.”
Verbois said her family has checked into the possibility of installing a whole-home filtration system.
“They have told us that they don’t even necessarily think that it would be worth it due to how nasty the water is. They would have to come out and maintenance it around once a month to every two months, and it’s going to be hundreds of dollars each time that they come out,” she said. “So if that’s the case, then I’m paying for a water filtration system—a whole-home water filtration system—which is $2000-plus, on top of monthly maintenance, which is hundreds of dollars’ worth, and then on top of that, paying my monthly water bill. I just, I can’t see that being feasible for very many people.”
Water contaminants
The EPA has regulations for contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk, although some contaminants—like lead—have no safe level or presence.
According to the Whitehall Head of Island Source Water Assessment Plan, the water system had a susceptibility rating of “medium” in 2025.
This means that the water provided by the utility provider has a medium risk of contamination from a wide variety of sources, including environmental, agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, oil and gas production and process, other industrial processes, and more.
According to information from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), data from 2018 through 2023 reveals that water for Whitehall/Head of Island had nine contaminants that exceeded the EWG’s health guidelines. Of these nine contaminants, six had no designated legal limit, and the other three were below the legal limit.
All nine of the contaminants have a potential to cause cancer, EWG reports.
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