The City of Natchitoches held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Public Works Department Wednesday, July 17 for the new water treatment plant # 4. The multi-million dollar project will begin construction on August 19 and take approximately 450 days to finish. When completed, the new plant will add 2.5 million gallons per day of water to the system’s capacity for a total of 8 million gallons a day for the whole system. That production will provide a comfortable margin for future growth and development. The new plant will also enable water plant 3 to be able to be shut down for some much needed maintenance without interrupting service to the city.

Mayor Ronnie Williams, Councilwoman at Large Betty Sawyer-Smith and James Hagen, Consulting Engineer of Balar Engineers, spoke at the dedication after which they were joined by contractors, city workers and others, all of whom worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition, in turning the ceremonial first shovel of dirt.