(The Center Square) – Shreveport officials are working to reassure residents that the city’s drinking water is safe following a failing state report, while simultaneously working to modernize aging infrastructure cited in the report.
This month, the city received an unsatisfactory water system report from the Louisiana Department of Health, marking the third consecutive year the city received a failing or near-failing review.
An agency document confirmed that Shreveport’s grade “does not imply unsafe water.” A poor grade indicates significant concerns with “long-term viability.” The department created a “report card” system for public drinking water systems to measure performance.
Mayor Tom Arceneaux quickly moved to calm fears at a Monday press conference but acknowledged that it may be several years before residents see the city earn a satisfactory rating from state authorities.
“Shreveport received an F grade on our system. So let me start with the most important point – our water is safe to drink,” Arceneaux said. “This grade is about infrastructure, not safety.”
Infrastructure is cited as one of two major scoring deductions, yet the city has embarked on a multi-year process to upgrade those deficiencies.
“Shreveport manages more than 1,100 miles of waterlines, much of it aging,” he said. “That reality weighs heavily on this grade. Much of the drop this year came from scoring factors like federal compliance categories and administrative interpretations, not a sudden change in the safety of your drinking water.”
However, concerns over drinking water safety are part of their calculation.
Manganese and trihalomethane – considered drinking water safety issues by the EPA — are noted as deductions. At high concentrations, manganese is a potential health concern, and trihalomethanes are regulated by a maximum containment level, according to the EPA.
Arceneaux says both are misrepresented in the report.
There is no indication in any city report that manganese was discovered as a secondary contaminant in 2025, Arceneaux said.
He did acknowledge one violation of trihalomethane exceeding the EPA limit, which occurred in June. The issue was located and fixed immediately, he said, adding that equipment was purchased to avoid recurrence.
“I’m not suggesting that LDH should not apply their regulations. It happens that the regulations do not make sense in the context of a single incident for which we were penalized three times,” Arceneaux said.
The report notes unresolved infrastructure deficiencies as justification for assigning a lower rating. LDH issued an administrative order last year forcing the city to upgrade water storage tanks, emergency generators and come into compliance with water quality regulations.
“We have been in compliance with that administrative order the entire time,” Arceneaux said. “It is our position … that 10 points should not have been deducted.
“It’s not a one-year fix. We are dealing with a system built over generations and it will take a sustained effort to improve it,” he said, adding that voters approved an $82 million bond ask for water and sewer upgrades and that work is happening now across multiple projects.
“We have been correcting deficiencies aggressively,” Arceneaux said. “We’re not satisfied with this grade but we’re confident in the direction we’re headed.”
The city is replacing aging pipes, upgrading treatment facilities and improving the system’s reliability and capacity.
