KILLIAN — Residents in Killian are currently experiencing a water outage that began on Saturday, with Livingston Parish later issuing a state of emergency.

Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte and the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness issued the Declaration of Emergency due to a critical failure of the municipal water system. That failure left Killian completely without water service on the Fourth of July.  

The outage was caused by electrical issues at a water pump handled by Magnolia Water.

In the Declaration of Emergency, Delatte wrote, "the loss of the public water system poses an immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare, including the inability to provide safe drinking water, sanitation, fire protection, and essential governmental services."

Citizens impacted by the water outage can pick up water at Killian First Baptist Church or Bayhi's Landing. 

The town hall is also being used as an emergency water distribution location, parish officials said.

The United Cajun Navy and Transport Ministries have also donated water for residents and will be handing out cases of water on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Residents should bring their Magnolia Water bill, as the distribution is only for those impacted by the outage.

As of Sunday morning, officials said a spool piece has been replaced, and water is on at the well site with routine water sampling being conducted.

The Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional assistance through the State of Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

The full state of emergency letter is available here.