(The Center Square) – Shreveport’s recent water emergency has left the city searching for financial assistance for repairs as much of its infrastructure funding remains committed to federally mandated sewer system upgrades.
During the city council’s monthly administrative meeting on Monday, discussion turned to water treatment plant deficiencies that must be addressed along with the mounting cost of sewer upgrades to bring the city into compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.
A major water transmission line rupture at the city’s purification plant on March 1 left large portions of Shreveport with no water or low water pressure. A citywide boil advisory has since been lifted, and repair costs could top $1 million.
Meanwhile, Shreveport is in the final year of a federal consent decree to fix its failing sewer system. The 12-year plan to address sewer overflows and aging infrastructure carries a November 2026 deadline.
The court-approved agreement created an imbalance that prioritizes sewer upgrades at the expense of water, said Tom Dark, the city’s chief administrative officer.
“The argument we’ve made over and over is, the requirements you put on us are making us put all our eggs in the sewer basket,” Dark said. “And we have tried to say, over and over, we have water needs.”
“We have two congressmen here, and one of them is extremely powerful and has the ear of the president … We are asking our federal delegation for help, and it doesn’t appear that we’re getting the help that we need,” said Councilman Grayson Boucher.
Council chair Tabatha Taylor pointed to the water emergency as strong evidence that Shreveport’s aging infrastructure is at a tipping point.
“We really need help with this, because at some point we’re not going to have drinking water,” Boucher said.
Dark plans to explore applying for federal discretionary funds but will first seek additional state funding. “We actually have a fairly large capital outlay application for work at the plant that I suspect we’re going to try to make bigger in light of what happened last week,” he said.
“The state’s great, but I don’t hold a whole bunch of faith in them helping us. I think that we’re going to have to move forward and really put some pressure on our congressional delegation,” Boucher said.
A meeting with the congressional delegation is warranted, Taylor concurred.
“We’ve been spending the citizens’ money hand over fist to get where we are right now, and we’re just not making headway so we need somebody to help us. And I think that if the federal government is mandating all this stuff, then they need to try to help us,” Boucher said.
