By Peak Johnson

Last month, Governor John Bel Edwards made an emergency order for St. Joseph, a small northeast Louisiana town, when two routine samples of the town’s drinking water showed signs of lead contamination and two more samples showed high levels of copper.

The Associated Press, in a story published in The Washington Times, reported that, according to state health officials, at least 22 percent of the homes have unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water.

Gov. Bel Edwards ordered the town to begin drinking bottled water that was delivered from state reserves set aside for disasters. Just before Christmas, “Louisiana Department of Health employees started testing the drinking water from each of the 470 homes, businesses, and schools on the town’s system.”

The Advocate reported that on Dec. 30, “state health officials announced that not only does the water have high levels of manganese and iron, which cause the discoloration though are not dangerous, but 90 homes also have unsafe levels of lead.”

“The message to the folks who live there is not to drink the water,” Jimmy Guidry, the state health officer, told The Advocate. “They may have no level. We would still prefer they don’t drink the water because of the deterioration of the plant that treats the water and the infrastructure, the pipes, that deliver the water.”

Guidry added that families with children under the age of six or with women who are pregnant should have their blood tested. He also stated that “lead dissolved in water has no taste, smell and is not visible, so testing is the only sure way to know.”

“We’re urging them to get in touch with their primary care doctor. And if they don’t have one, we’ve provided them with a list of resources where they can get the testing done,” Guidry said.

This is not the only time that St. Joseph has suffered from an issue concerning its water. Just last year residents had dark brown tap water running through their homes.

Local resident Garrett Boyte had described the problem at the time as "Normally, it’s a light yellow. In the past four days it has changed.”

According to The Advocate, blood testing is required by law, however “it is often overlooked because lead is so infrequently found.”

Guidry added that “the state will be aggressive in pushing physicians to conduct the tests.”

The Advocate reported that the town’s new mayor, Elvadus Fields, was notified of the lead levels shortly after being sworn in.

“The truth is, this should have been fixed years ago,” Fields said.