Our COVID-19 Response

Water Company Continues Operations to, As Always, Provide a Safe and Reliable Supply of Drinking Water

 

An Open Letter to our Valued Customers:

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on everyone's day-to-day activities. The Baton Rouge Water Company, and it subsidiaries: Parish Water Company and Ascension Water Company, have taken steps to protect our employees and you, our customers, visitors, friends and family.

Just as you are realizing things you never could have imagined possible are now reality, we are brainstorming ways to continue to operate an excellent water system should dozens, or more, employees become quarantined. If you've lived in and around Baton Rouge long, you know the water system, thanks to the people on our team, has never let you down—we've survived too many hurricanes to count and the flood of August 2016 without ever losing pressure. Our commitment to you, our job one, is to ensure you have safe, affordable, and reliable water service and we intend to do just that.

Regarding safe water, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages the continued use of tap water, as COVID-19 has not been detected in drinking water supplies. EPA has established regulations with treatment requirements for public water systems that prevent waterborne pathogens such as viruses from contaminating drinking water and wastewater. COVID-19 is a type of virus that is particularly susceptible to disinfection and standard treatment and disinfectant processes are expected to be effective. Updated information from EPA on COVID-19 can be found here.

Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states here "The COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection, such as those in most municipal drinking water systems, should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19."

Our water is naturally filtered through the sand aquifers from which we draw our supplies. We treat water at a level that ensures a residual level of disinfection is present all the way to our customers' taps.

Please be patient with our team as we work to minimize their exposure to COVID-19. We are doing everything we can to ensure our employees stay healthy so they can continue to provide the water service essential to our communities. Like so many other companies, to protect both customers and employees, we have temporarily closed our walk in lobby, but remind you our drive thru is open and all our other payment channels are functioning as normal.

Thank you for your continued support. We will get through this together.

Patrick J. Kerr
Chair and Chief Executive Officer

 

Water Drops

Water Usage Tips

Recycle DropWater early in the morning for the most benefit to your lawn.