Zachary Water System

According to Louisiana state law, this document is publicly available. The report has been forwarded to the Governor, Attorney General, and other required public officials. A copy is accessible for public review at the Baton Rouge office of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. This document was produced by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, State of Louisiana, PO Box 94397, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9397 in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 24:513.

Eight copies of this public document were produced at an approximate cost of $37.60. This material was created following standards for state agencies established under R.S. 43:31. The report is available on the Legislative Auditor's website at www.lla.la.gov.

We examined water rates across Louisiana, reviewing whether the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) approved rates for private water systems in a timely manner, and if rates charged by governmental systems adequately cover their expenses. This performance audit was conducted because the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently graded Louisiana's water infrastructure as a D+, indicating poor and deteriorating conditions.

The ASCE emphasized better planning and additional funding are needed because Louisiana's aging water infrastructure cannot reliably provide enough safe water to meet future demands. It's essential that water systems set appropriate rates to cover both operational costs and increasing infrastructure expenses to ensure safe water delivery now and in the future.

Louisiana has 850 water systems billing customers for water services, including private for-profit systems, private nonprofit systems, and governmental systems operated by cities, towns and parishes. The LPSC regulates rates for private for-profit systems as mandated by the Louisiana Constitution, and until 2016, also approved rates for private nonprofit systems.

Water rates vary significantly across the state due to factors like geographic location, source water quality, customer base size, and other variables. Based on data from LPSC and our survey, residential customers' monthly bills range from $6.90 to $58.50 for 5,000 gallons of water monthly.

Key challenges include aging infrastructure and water loss. In 2011, the EPA estimated Louisiana's water systems would need $5.3 billion for drinking water infrastructure over 20 years. Our survey revealed 59.4% of responding systems have infrastructure 30-50 years old, with 15% having infrastructure older than 50 years. Aging systems typically face higher maintenance costs as pipes require repair or replacement.

Water loss is another significant issue, with 43% of surveyed systems not tracking water loss at all. This loss increases expenses as systems pay to treat water that never reaches consumers and therefore cannot be billed.

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