By MELISSA PEACOCK

LAPLACE – Water was plentiful on the outside, but not on the inside. A main waterline supplying water to about 8,000 LaPlace residents ruptured, leaving locals without water just hours before Tropical Storm Isidore brought flood water into streets and up to some doorsteps.

Residents were concerned. The rain had already started. A tropical storm was on the way. There was no water in houses throughout the city. How would they fill scant water supplies in preparation for the storm?

Unable to catch water from the tap, some caught rain water for washing faces and flushing toilets. Without water for about 12 hours, residents had no other choice. While no one knows the exact cause of the waterline breakage, the St. John the Baptist Parish Council is taking steps to ensure LaPlace residents have some access to water, even when pipes break. At a recent council meeting, Councilman Jobe Boucvalt made a motion to look at adding additional water storage capacity in LaPlace. Councilman Duaine Duffy asked for further investigation into the September breakage.

Boucvalt would like to see an additional tank installed in the city. The additional storage tank would hold about five million gallons of water – enough water to supply about a day’s worth of water to residents should another problem arise.

“If we lose Ruddock (the area where the waterline ruptured), we lose storage capacity,” Boucvalt said. “But if we put some big storage tanks, say a five-million-gallon capacity, if we lose Ruddock, we would have a day of storage.”

Unlike the Ruddock break on Sept. 24, most breaks are fixed relatively quickly. Under normal circumstances, only part of the five million stored gallons would be used, if any at all.

On average, LaPlace residents use about seven million gallons of water per day. There are currently three water storage facilities in LaPlace – a ground storage area and two elevated tanks.

“What Councilman Boucvalt is saying is if we ever have a break like this, we could cut off the line and still have storage,” Parish Engineer C.J. Savoie said.

Savoie investigated the Ruddock line break. He was involved with the design of the original line and was with repair crews on the scene that wet Tuesday when the line broke.

He praised repair crews for repairs on the broken waterline.

“I think they ought to get additional storage on the West and East side of LaPlace,” Savoie said.

The Ruddock lines are only about four and a half years old. Savoie suspects that problems with the line developed when a piece of heavy road equipment, such as a grading machine, backed off the road and sank down on the pipe. Later, the ground softened and gave way, causing the crack to rupture.

“I have had three people tell me that there were ruts like from tracks,” Savoie said.

Under the circumstances, the water had to be shut off to prevent contamination. At least three of the twelve hours needed to repair the line were spent cleaning and refilling the line. It took about one or two hours to fill the line.

The cost of adding additional water storage in LaPlace could run into the millions. Boucvalt and other Council members believe that the benefits could outweigh costs.

“I think what we need to do is see if we could get some funds, maybe grant money,” Councilman Boucvalt said. “As far as a new water plant itself, that could be a long time in coming. We can’t continue to go on like this. Building a plant is a ways down the road.”