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Terrebonne and Lafourche residents are being warned that the organism commonly referred to as a “brain-eating amoeba” has been discovered during early testing by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Waterworks.
The contamination was found in a Pointe-aux-Chenes pipe during a test by the Terrebonne Consolidated Waterworks.
State inspectors test water lines annually for the presence of Naegleria Fowleri,
Water Works manager Michael Sobert said that because temperatures were above 75 degrees he ordered testing to be done by staff.
“That’s how we knew,” he said. “We informed the state and with their approval decided on our own to start the change in disinfection to free chlorine.”
Because of the chlorine application, water might have a different taste. Certain locations in Lafourche purchase water from the Terrebonne system. The Lafourche communities affected are Marydale Subdivision, Grand Bois Community, and the Romero Subdivision, Romero Street in Bayou Blue.
Sobert confirmed that the amoeba was found at 4260 La. 665, the end of the line in Pointe-aux-Chenes. The chlorine treatment will continue for the next 60 days to ensure that any remaining amoeba in the system are eliminated.
The presence of the amoeba does not make water unsafe to drink. But it can be fatal if snorted and thus entering the nasal passages.
The amoeba exists when temperature and other conditions are optimal for life and growth potential.
