JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — Along with schools closing Wednesday on the east bank of Jefferson Parish, so did businesses, and the ones that stayed open, had to think of creative ways around having no water.
Some business owners said they were operating at a loss.
Even though the water main is fixed and pressure is coming back, Jefferson Parish is asking everyone on the east bank, to conserve water right now so the pressure can build back up faster.
Today people had to do without showers, and businesses we talked to along Metairie Road were struggling.
By midday, on a Wednesday, Salon de Belleza would have had 30 customers in and out for manicures and pedicures. Seven employees would have been making tips. Wednesday, all of the chairs were empty, except one.
“My husband to say maybe we close today, but I want open, and I say, OK, we can pour the water if the customer come in,” said Rosa Tran, owner of Salon de Belleza.
The salon prides itself in being open seven days a week, and only closing three days each year. So, today they are using bottled water, along with filling buckets from the trickle in the sink, to save water, to pour in the pedicure bowls.
A few blocks away at Parish Line Bistro, Ro Daniels says as a mom of five, and veteran of hurricanes, she knows how to improvise too, getting the pots clean with sanitized water. The restaurant stayed closed until the afternoon.
“So, I stopped and got gallons of water, soda, stuff for us to clean in the back, so we could at least get open with no water pressure, and no bathroom usage. We kind of waited,” said Nicole Naquin, Parish Line Bistro’s, general manager.
Normally moms would be filling the dining room, and their children on the now empty school playground down the street.
A few doors down at Rolls and Bowls the break in the JP water main is breaking their bottom line. They are bringing in bottled water so they can at least serve take out.
“It's empty, I mean we just have their Uber and all the DoorDash, but they take 30 percent already. So, it's not like we're making anything. We're just kind of want to stay open and I know the entire Metairie is out,” said Julie Nguyen, owner of Rolls and Bowls.
Councilman-at-Large Scott Walker says the old water pipes are to blame.
“Over the next 20, years we are upgrading our infrastructure to the tune of $2.2 billion, replacing all the sewer and water infrastructure. The can's been kicked down the road for a long time, catching up with us, but we are addressing that infrastructure, and fixing it for the future,” said Scott Walker Jefferson Parish Councilman-at-Large.
The water samples were collected Wednesday afternoon, but have to sit for 24 hours before being tested. So, on the JP east bank, you still have to boil water before drinking, cooking, or brushing your teeth. And always use distilled water only, in a neti pot.
Scott Walker says this is just the fourth time since 2018 that we've had to boil water.
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