Broussard Mayor Langlinais Refuses To Drop Water Suit

(KPEL) — Broussard mayor Charles Langlinais says he is willing to sit down with Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel to discuss an ongoing dispute between their two cities. However, Langlinais says he will not drop his city’s suit against Lafayette for overpayment of a disputed water bill.

“It is both unreasonable and unfair to ask that this claim be dismissed as a condition to even trying to resolve the pending disputes,” Langlinais said in a letter to Durel.

At the heart of the water controversy is a more than $825,000 water bill given to the city of Broussard by Lafayette Utilities System. LUS alleges Broussard was able to get free water for years by using a waterline that bypassed an LUS water meter. LUS discovered the bypassed line earlier this year.

Langlinais said they were not aware the line was being bypassed and question why it took so long for the problem to be discovered. Langlinais believes LUS owes Broussard more than $600,000 because he says bad math and faulty logic were used when LUS came up with the amount for the water bill.

Langlinais proposes that Lafayette pay Broussard $575,000. He suggests both sides would then drop their suits and try to come to an amicable resolution to the water dispute.

“Then, if we owe more we will pay it, or if we are due more Lafayette will pay us,” Langlinais said.

He also proposed plans to possibly provide water to certain unincorporated areas of the parish, such as Shenandoah.

“We are willing to sit down with the appropriate officials of Lafayette Parish to work out all of these issues,” Langlinais said. “We also remain willing to submit our current litigation matters to either mediation, or to binding arbitration conducted by a retired Judge from the 15th Judicial District Court.”