SIMMESPORT, LA (KALB) - A resident in Simmesport said ongoing water problems in the town are making life difficult, and now, a dispute with a town employee on social media is making things worse.
Christen Henderson said she is afraid to even drink the water in her home.
“I’m scared to swallow the water because it’s not drinkable at all. The brown water we have...It’s been a struggle some days,” Henderson said.
She said the water service is unreliable, and some days there’s no water at all. When there is, it’s often discolored.
“Some days I wake up and I don’t even know if I’m going to have water or not,” she said.
Henderson said the water problems have been going on for months. Residents are often under boil advisories, and things recently got worse when she ended up on the town’s “disconnect list,” meaning she could lose water service.
“Being disabled and home all the time, it’s been such an inconvenience to not have water so many days out of the month,” she said. “I wanted to speak out for the people in Simmesport since it’s been a problem for everyone, especially with these disconnects.”
According to Henderson, residents who are put on the disconnect list must pay a fee just to stay connected, even if they haven’t been shut off yet.
“You have to pay $50 to get reconnected,” she said. “Even if you’re not disconnected yet, they make you pay just to get off the list.”
She said that after she posted about the issue online, the town changed the policy to $30 to be removed from the list and $50 if you’re already disconnected.
“I raised hell two weeks ago when I tried to pay my full bill, and they still said I had to pay the $50 reconnect fee or my water would be shut off,” she said.
Henderson also shared that the situation became even more stressful after a town employee posted about her on Facebook.
“One of their employees blasted me online, said things that weren’t true, called me names, cursed at me and told me to pay my bill. It was very unprofessional,” she said. “I don’t even know this person, and she did all of this while she was at work. It felt like slander, honestly.”
KALB stopped by Simmesport Town Hall to speak with Mayor Ted Turner about the water complaints, but he was not available for comment.
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