** UPDATE **

As of 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, water service has been restored to the town of Grand Isle. The severed water main between the town of Jean Lafitte and Grand Isle was successfully fused, pressure tested and activated.

GRAND ISLE, LA – On Friday, the Jefferson Parish Water Department announced they are working to restore water after a vessel hit and severed the water line from Lafitte to Grand Isle.

The damage happened on Thursday afternoon

The current water supply is expected to run out on the island by 10 a.m. Friday morning.

Water is expected to be permanently restored by Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.

If water pressure is lost as anticipated around 10 a.m., a boil water advisory will be in effect once the water pressure is restored and will last approximately 24 hours until required lab testing can confirm that the supply is safe to drink.

The Jefferson Parish Water Department immediately began mobilizing for restoration after discovering the water line break and began arrangements to barge and truck water to the storage tanks in Grand Isle.

Currently, a barge with a capacity of approximately 420,000 gallons is being loaded with water in Lafitte. It is roughly estimated that the loading will be complete by noon.

The travel time from Lafitte to Grand Isle is approximately four hours, pending favorable weather conditions; therefore, it is anticipated that water pressure can be restored temporarily to the system by this afternoon between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

As a result, Jefferson Parish anticipates a period of approximately 6 ½ to 7 ½ hours for which Grand Isle will have no water pressure available.

In coordination with the Town of Grand Isle, Jefferson Parish will set up a bottled water distribution site at the Grand Isle Multiplex (3101 Highway 1). Approximately 20,000 bottles of water are estimated to arrive at the Multiplex no later than 1 p.m. today.