Water Quality
Water quality is important to us!
LUS goes beyond simply complying with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. We take extra steps to ensure that all water delivered to customers is safe, good tasting, and clean, meeting our highest standards.
The Water Quality Report is a mandate of the EPA in compliance with the 1996 amended Safe Drinking Water Act, which requires all community water systems to deliver a brief annual water quality report.
The Lafayette Utilities System water source is the Chicot Aquifer, a large, natural underground “lake” in Southwest Louisiana. It is a stable and plentiful freshwater supply. Once water reaches LUS’s water plant, it is cleaned through a three-stage process including (1) softening, (2) filtering, and (3) disinfecting before it reaches your tap. LUS produces an average of 22 million gallons per day.
LUS utilizes its own certified microbiological water laboratory to ensure our drinking water is free from bacterial contamination. Samples from around the city are collected and tested throughout each month. As a laboratory accredited by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, we are audited biennially to ensure its quality function.
Safe Drinking Water Program
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) has been in place for more than 30 years and is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans’ drinking water. Under SDWA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.
The State of Louisiana passed Act 125 in 2000 to support the Louisiana Safe Drinking Water Program. This resulted in an annual fee that will pay for all inspections, tests, or procedures on public water supplies that may be authorized by the administrator of the EPA.
LUS water customers will be billed $1.00 on a monthly basis in accordance with State of Louisiana Safe Drinking Water Fee (Act 605 of 2016 effective January 1, 2017, for Community Water Systems).