The entire Town of Jena Water System will be turned off tonight, Wednesday, June 18, from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., to allow contractor crews to complete the final tie-ins of the newly installed water system.

This means there will be no running water for the entire town during the time period.

Womack & Sons, the contractor for the multi-million-dollar Louisiana Water Sector grant, must make five major tie-ins (switching water from the old water pipes to the new water pipes) which means the water must be turned completely off.

Once the tie-ins are completed, water will be turned back on slowly to prevent any pressure build up and blowouts.

Town of Jena Superintendent Ronny Steele noted that when the water is turned back on, a Water Boil Advisory will be in effect for the entire Jena water system for at least two days, possibly longer, until water samples are cleared by the Louisiana Department of Health.

The Superintendent also noted that in the event the tie-ins cannot be completed Wednesday night, the plan is to finish the tie-ins tomorrow night, Thursday, June 19. The same information will be for that night as well.

Jena Mayor LaDawn Edwards noted that originally, the contractor wanted to turn the water off during the day or early evening, but she convinced them to perform the work in the late night/early morning hours, so it did not affect businesses or residents as much.

“We hate to do it, but it has to be done,” she said. Steele noted that the contractor will have several different crews working at the major connection points simultaneously in order to hopefully complete the work in one night.

He noted at the Town Council’s meeting June 2 that most of the other tie-ins have already occurred throughout the project area, but they were saving these final four major tie-ins until the end.

Officials also noted that preparations have been made for an emergency, such as a fire, with adjacent fire trucks and tanker trucks being made available should the unthinkable occur.

Steele also reported that LaSalle Water Works District 1 has been contacted and is ready to provide water in the event of a fire.

With the tie-ins Wednesday night and water running through the new pipes, the water pipe installation of the project will be completed. Other portions of the water grant, including generator hookups, chemical buildings, etc., will begin once the tie-ins are completed.

“Of course, they will still have much work to do regarding repairing streets, parking lots, driveways and lawns that were damaged as part of the installation of the new water lines,” he said. “They will have to use concrete or asphalt to repair streets that were damaged, and they will have someone dedicated with a tractor to do all of the dress up work in the town.”