Wells Island community gets tank of water
By: Kimberly Rusley
Updated: December 14, 2012
After days without a vital resource, relief has come to the Wells Island Road community.
Today Caddo Parish Public Works Department dropped off 500 gallons of fresh water.
"We're going to leave it here unmanned, and they can come get as much as they want to, so whenever it runs out, we'll go back and get some more," says Ken Ward, Project Manager with the Public Works Department.
Faucets are dry because Analytical Logging resold city water to residents, but hasn't paid the bill in 20 months.
Monday the city shut off service.
"We're really frustrated with the city of Shreveport and our mayor, because we want and practically begged to have our water turned back on and we were told no," says resident Lorraine Craig. "Not once, not twice, bur three times."
Craig had to be escorted out of a city council meeting after speaking out about having no water.
She says this is not only an inconvenience her family, but it's embarrassing.
"It's humiliating that we even have to come out with buckets and gallons of water and stuff like that just to get water to ear and, you know, wash off or use to flush our toilets," says Craig.
People who live here along Wells Island Road say the water tank is a temporary fix, and they're looking for a long term solution.
Caddo Parish Commissioner Michael Williams says the parish and city are working to get water lines put in.
"Our ultimate goal is to discuss what would the cost be," says Commissioner Williams. "The parish engineer and public works director are working around the clock to resolve this matter."
We tried to contact Analytical for comment, but once again our calls went unanswered.
The Caddo Parish Commission will have an emergency meeting on Tuesday, December 18, to decide how they'll go about putting water lines in.
If the homes in the neighborhood don't have water soon, people will get eviction notices on Christmas Eve.
