Our Water security
Our water system
Our water system does not have enough backup, it has single points of failure.
The two aspects are quantity and pressure.
My plan is to use a second connection to an outside district to cover quantity and to build a second water tower to guarantee pressure.
We must also map and replace pipes more proactively to prevent the persistent problems causing boil orders even when the main parts of the system are working.
Executing a backup interconnection with St. Tammany Parish Water District 2 followed by building a secondary water tower is a far more cost-effective strategy that saves between $2.1 million and $3.25 million in upfront capital costs compared to drilling a brand-new deep-well system.
By separating the two core functions of a water utility—source production (getting water out of the ground) and storage/pressure regulation (keeping the lines full and pressurized)—this plan addresses Abita Springs' vulnerabilities at a fraction of the price.
The Financial Comparison
Capital Project Option
Estimated Cost
Main Infrastructure Components
Option A: The New Well Plan
$5,000,000
2,000+ ft deep drilling, 12-inch casing, high-volume industrial pumps, advanced chemical treatment plant, telemetry.
Option B: Interconnect + New Tower
$1,750,000 – $2,900,000
• Interconnect: $250k–$400k (piping & booster pumps)
• Water Tower: $1.5M–$2.5M (100k–250k gallon elevated tank)
Net Upfront Savings
$2,100,000 – $3,250,000
Immediate capital retained by the town.
Why This Plan Solves the Engineering Crisis
This strategy works because it mimics the engineering advantages of a large regional utility on a small-town budget:
1. It Solves the Volume Deficit (The Interconnect)
A second well is desired purely for "redundancy"—meaning if Abita's primary well goes offline again, the town needs a source of water. An interconnect with Water District 2 provides that exact redundancy. Instead of paying $5 million to tap an aquifer a half-mile underground, the town pays under $400,000 to tap into Water District 2's already existing deep wells. [1]
2. It Solves the Critical Pressure Drop (The Second Tower)
During Abita's recent emergency tie-in with Utilities Inc. of Louisiana (UIL), opening a fire hydrant caused line pressure to plummet dangerously close to the 20 PSI boil-water threshold. This happens because long, narrow interconnect pipes create high friction, restricting rapid water flow.
A second water tower acts as a massive physical battery.
It can slowly fill up from Water District 2 or Abita’s well during low-use hours (like 2:00 AM).
During peak hours or fire emergencies, gravity does the work, dropping thousands of gallons instantly into the local grid to maintain rock-solid water pressure, completely bypassing the pipe friction limits.