OPLEOUSAS, La. (KLFY) — One of the most frequently discussed topics in the city of Opelousas has been the ongoing issue of brown water in the city.

Now, as the City Council is hoping to approve the budget for the next fiscal year, council members are saying plans need to be put in place to address that issue before the budget is approved.

“I would like a motion before we even adopt a budget, if we can have our city engineer and other outside agencies here to do a presentation before we adopt this budget to see what they’re going to do and help us with this new water system. I’m not comfortable adopting a budget without a presentation,” said Alderwoman Chasity Warren.

The council spent much of their special meeting discussing the need for water improvements in the city, saying money from the recently renewed 1 cent sales tax can be used to focus on the water system.

“Making sure we have maybe a management team, someone all that in the water system disqualify a management team or someone over this water system that understands this one,” said Alderman Marvin Richard. “Focus just on the water people. Just on the water itself that we can fix that water. I’m telling you, man, you would put a smile on a lot of people’s faces.”

While Richard presented the idea for a new management team, residents also learned that there is a plan in motion to improve the city’s water plant.

Mayor Julius Alsandor says starting at the source of the water plant is the city’s best way to ensure the progress is efficient for the city.

“We just applied, and hopefully within the next month or so, we’re going to have an LDH loan that’s going to be approved,” said Alsandor. “This is going to be the entire water system and the improvements at the water plant that’s going to clean up our system, improving our operations at the plant, that’s going to eliminate a lot of the issues that we’re talking about, especially with our brown water.”

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