Advertisement Sample tests to confirm elimination of brain-eating amoeba in St. John the Baptist Parish State mandated chlorine burn ends for parish areas Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A chlorine burn has ended and officials in St. John the Baptist Parish are now waiting for results to confirm that brain-eating amoeba is no longer in the water system.State health officials notified parish leaders that the chlorine burn for Water District No. 1 could end last week. It had been in place for 60 days for areas of Reserve, Garyville, Mt. Airy and a small portion of LaPlace.SLIDESHOW: St. John the Baptist Parish Brain-Eating Amoeba Timeline"I want to reassure the residents of Water District No. 1 that the water is safe to drink and use for all purposes," Parish President Natalie Robottom said. "I am relieved that this phase of the emergency requirement has been met."The emergency order was enacted on Aug. 27 after a brain-eating amoeba was detected. Tests showed chlorine levels in that area were below the state minimum, so experts sent samples off for further testing, which confirmed the same strain of the amoeba also found in St. Bernard Parish last year.The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals instructed the parish to begin the burn right after which increased the level of chlorine to 1.0 milligrams per liter. Robottom said weekly sampling and monitoring of 70 sites will continue."When DHH confirms the amoeba is no longer present in the water system, St. John will convert the distribution system to chloramine treatment and will maitain a 1.0 milligrams per liter total chlorine residual in accordance with the emergency order."According to the parish, residents will be notified when the chloramine conversion begins. They added that chlorine burns have been successful in alleviating the amoeba during previous instances.Back in October, two parish employees were indicted for alleged misrepresentation of water reports. They were charged with two counts of malfeasance in office and filing or maintaining false public records.According to the indictment, they were tasked with collecting samples from at least two locations, the Lions Water Treatment Plant in Reserve and an additional site in Mt. Airy. They were responsible for recording the findings in a daily log to be filed with the DHH each month.However, Louisiana State Police investigators found that their reports did not match GPS data from their parish vehicles. According to the indictment, on numerous days when the two said they tested water samples, the GPS data showed they were not near the testing site.No additional updates have been released in their case. Additional information on the announcement from St. John the Baptist Parish can be found on their website.