Berwick businesses will pay more for water

BERWICK — Events have conspired to put water quality on the radar of local governments this year. Two such items appeared on the Berwick Town Council agenda for Tuesday.
The council passed one item, a new ordinance raising commercial water rates. Another, an invitation to join a lawsuit over old lead-lined telecommunications cable, will have to wait.
The new ordinance doesn’t affect residential water rates. The commercial rate will rise to $25 from $15 for the first 2,000 gallons of water used each month.
Each additional 1,000 gallons “or fraction thereof” the charge will increase to $6.50 from $5.50.
The ordinance also creates a separate category for industrial users, who will pay $30 per month for the first 2,000 gallons and $7.50 for each additional 1,000 gallons.
Mayor Duval Arthur said the ordinance was proposed after a rate study by the Louisiana Rural Water Association, a quasi-state organization created “to assist small water and wastewater systems through training, on-site technical assistance, and state operator certification.”
The rate study is about more than money. It’s about the financial sustainability of local water systems’ ability to provide a safe product.
Louisiana’s administrative code requires local water systems to undergo a rate study at least once every five years, and the association is one of the entities authorized to do the job.
Also Tuesday, a presentation by Burns Charest LLP was on the council’s agenda, but was postponed at the Texas-based law firm’s request. The subject is led-wrapped cable, and again there’s a water-quality connection.
It seems likely that Berwick will be asked to join a lawsuit over old telecommunications cable containing lead and the impact on the environment, including soil and water contamination.
The story first came to light when AT&T settled a 2021 lawsuit over high levels of lead found in Lake Tahoe between California and Nevada. In July 2023, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that lead-covered cable can be found all over the country, and both AT&T and Verizon were sued by investors over the revelations’ impact on stock prices.
Exposure to lead in children can lead to lower IQs, developmental and behavioral difficulties, and brain and nervous system damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In adults, lead can cause reproductive problems, heart disease and hypertension, and kidney damage.
The recent focus on infrastructure, especially water systems, includes funding from state or federal sources: $585,000 for automated water meters in Berwick, $5 million for water system improvements in Patterson and $4 million for the same purpose in Morgan City.
Also Tuesday:
—The council approved the appointment of Ruth Black to the Berwick Housing Authority Board. Black will replace Robert Thigpen, a longtime member who is retiring.
—The council gave its OK to a can shake fundraiser for Atchafalaya Chapter No. 62 of the Fraternal Order of Police. The event will be 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 20 near Stazione.
The town’s police officers and firefighters drew some praise from the mayor after Monday’s Faith & Blue Event involving police officers and local churches.
“You’re delivering a message that’s very important to our country right now,” Arthur said.