SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – Yellow water was the major topic of discussion at the infrastructure committee meeting Tuesday afternoon (June 25).
William Daniels with the Department of Water and Sewerage addressed the matter by explaining what manganese is, where it comes from, and how it ended up in the water.
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Daniels explains that manganese is in the solution, and these are unprecedented numbers.
Dirt has manganese near construction sites, and a lot of things may have gotten washed into the lake.
Another possibility could be the turning of the lake and the non-oxygen pockets rising to the top, bringing the manganese with them and causing the discoloration of the water.
“We started thinking ‘well did the stopping of the rest inhibitor for a couple of days cause this?’ So, we spent a couple of days running that down,” Daniels said.
With city officials working hard, people just want answers. Many of them feel that the city could have warned them earlier.
“Give us some kind of heads up. [Whatever] you learned, let us know,” Shreveport resident Betty Jackson said.
Daniels wants to inform the public that the water is safe to drink, bathe and cook with. The high levels of manganese are declining, and citizens should see it clear up relatively soon.
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