JEANERETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Jeanerette city leaders celebrate a significant achievement tonight as they receive a state award for improvements to the city's drinking water during the city hall meeting at 6 p.m.

The city of Jeanerette is being honored with a Community Achievement Award from the Louisiana Municipal Association for its efforts to clean and purify the drinking water over several years.

"Our groundwater life in a lot of localities is very, very hard and has a high content of iron and magnesium," said Mayor Carol Bourgeois. "So for several years there was all these complaints because of the discoloration of our water. And today, today we've corrected that."

Jeanerette secured nearly $2.1 million in 2021 to overhaul the water system, which included upgrading valves, piping, filters, softeners and changing treatment methods. These improvements earned Jeanerette an 'A' grade from the Louisiana Department of Health.

Bourgeois emphasized the hard work of city staff and water operators.

"We certainly needed a proud moment," said Bourgeois. "And it took a few folks been working on the same page about things. And we can certainly hold our head up high about this."

The project, which took about two years to complete, improved everything from the wells to the water tower. Mayor Bourgeois encourages people to visit Jeanerette.

"Come to Jeanerette...we got great water!" said Bourgeois.

The award signifies a bright future for Jeanerette, showcasing the city's commitment to providing clean and safe drinking water for its residents.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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