Bay St. Louis Remains Under Boil Water Notice

The City of Bay St. Louis remains under a boil water notice after a pump failure Tuesday. As Monday’s storms were winding down, Bay St. Louis residents began to notice they had low to no water pressure. Public Works employees found that a critical well component failed and managed to have it fixed within hours, but any time water pressure is lost, a boil water notice must be issued.

Wednesday marked the second full day of a city wide boil water notice, and Bay St. Louis restaurants have to adapt or close temporarily. When Douglas Niolet, the Director of Operations for 200 North Beach Food and Spirits, woke up Wednesday morning, he had a problem. How do you run a restaurant when the city’s water may be unsafe?

Niolet, a military veteran, is never one to back down from a challenge. He rose to the occasion. Niolet says, "We had to burn all the ice, or get rid of all the ice that could have been contaminated, anything that may have been cooked had to be poured out, then we started resourcing ice from outside the local area, getting canned Cokes because you can’t use your fountain drinks."

Niolet contacted the Health Department for a list of guidelines to ensure his customers’ safety before opening for business. Some restaurants remained closed Wednesday, and while he says they had considered closing, Niolet decided to remain open for the community. Niolet also says, "The community service, the busses, the tourists, and our employees, if we’re not open, they’re not getting paid, so it’s a win-win situation."

Officials say sometime early Tuesday morning, the electronic motor saver at a well station failed, prompting a citywide boil water notice. While the notice is purely precautionary, city officials did want to urge that public safety is their utmost concern. William ‘Buddy’ Zimmerman, Public Works Director for Bay St. Louis, says, "There is no indication that we have anything wrong with the water, but we are still going to have the boil water notice up until we have two days of clear samples, just to assure everyone that the water is safe to drink."

Bay St. Louis has been fielding calls from concerned citizens throughout the day and wants to assure the public that the water is safe to bathe in, but residents should boil water for drinking or cooking for at least one minute. Zimmerman also says, "When you get down to no water pressure or low water pressure, contaminates from outside the pipe can leach into the pipe, so that’s why we do the boil water notice."

Until the notice is lifted, local businesses will continue to do what they have to do to remain open. Niolet closes, "Hopefully the city got a handle on it and they can get the inspection done and it’ll just be something we talk about because we rose to the occasion to make it happen."

Bay St. Louis’ Public Works Department wants to assure residents that while there is no indication the water is unsafe, they wanted to err on the side of caution for the public’s safety.

The city uses a "blackboard" calling system to notify residents of issues like the boil water notice. If you aren’t receiving calls, contact the Bay St. Louis Fire Department at (228) 467-4736 to add your number to the list.