Clean water meetings set to begin Sept. 21

Clean water is essential to good health and high quality of life. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality wants to ensure that right to all citizens statewide with their community program “Protect Drinking Water One Drop at a Time.”

Staid as it may seem, water quality only is as excellent or poor as the community allows. The DEW program focuses on educating parishes about water protection, goals of the department and creating an awareness that most are not familiar with: community participation.

The Campaign community meetings will officially begin in the Tri-Parishes; all members of the public are urged to attend. Lafourche resident can head to Gouaux Hall at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m.

A second meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m., in the Versailles Room of the LaRose Civic Center in Cut-Off.

A community meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m., at the Main Branch Library.

Community outreach programs are usually held after testing and results are available. St. Mary will not have another program until 2009 testing, but is invited to attend Lafourche or Terrebonne meetings.

For more DEQ, water quality or community meeting information visit HYPERLINK “http://www.deq.louisiana.gov” www.deq.louisiana.gov or contact Jesse Means, a DEQ team member, at (225) 219-3510.

Andrea Carlson can be reached at 876-3008 or andrea@tri-parishtimes.com.