The Bossier Parish Police Jury is funding a study that will determine whether a dormant water treatment plant at Camp Minden could be brought online and serve mostly industrial customers in Bossier and Webster parishes.
The two neighboring parishes are working together to learn if Dorcheat Bayou water could be treated and a permit obtained, according to Bossier Parish Police Juror Glenn Benton. He says the water treatment facility was built in the 1980s in a failed attempt to lure a new industry to Camp Minden.
“The state built the plant, but then the company didn’t come. So they just mothballed everything. We’re doing a study to see about the cost of bringing this water plant online, and using about four million gallons of water a day for surrounding areas,” Benton said.
The parish hired KSA Engineers to carry out a $125,300 initial study to evaluate the viability of the water treatment facility. KSA did not return calls about the project. Benton says that although there isn’t a water shortage now, he wants to have a plan in place when groundwater is scarce.
“My biggest fear is someday that the aquifers are going to go down, and they are going down each year. They’re going to dry up and we won’t have a backup plan to take care of the people who live in the area,” Benton said.
Benton says this first study will take about five months. The next phase will look at potential customers that would pay for the water.
Bossier Parish is also working with Caddo Parish on a feasibility study for a water treatment plant on the Red River, but Benton said that would be very costly.
