FERRIDAY — The water situation in the Town of Ferriday is now a full-blown emergency, Mayor Glen McGlothin said Tuesday.

The town issued a boil-water advisory late Monday at the prompting of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and the advisory may not be lifted anytime soon.

The advisory was needed because the town’s water tank isn’t properly covered, McGlothin said.

But the water is no different than it was last week or even last year.

The tank has been damaged since 2006, and the roof of the tank caved in during 2008. Rainwater, insects and other debris can easily get into the water, Water Works Supervisor Gregory Griggs said.

“This boil-water order should have been called three years ago,” Griggs said.

Mayor Glen McGlothin agreed, saying he doesn’t understand why the health department didn’t force the previous town administration to issue the boil notice and fix the problems.

“Why now?” McGlothin asked. “It worries me that we’ve been having bad water for awhile.”

McGlothin said he has been focused on correcting decades-old water problems in Ferriday since he took office in July.

“I’ve been talking about urgency, urgency, urgency,” McGlothin said. “And I don’t think anyone took me seriously. Now we are in emergency mode.”

The town signed a $2.3 million agreement in February with Triton Company to replace the existing tank and add a second tank. Triton — a company that has completed similar projects in nearby towns — agreed to rehabilitate the existing water plant and install electronic monitors to ensure accurate water treatment.

Griggs and McGlothin both view the latest boil-water advisory as precautionary, however. Water Works is treating and testing the water, Griggs said.

“Sanitary code calls that the tank have a top,” Griggs said. “The quality of the water is still good. We are still doing everything we should be doing.”

The boil-water notice will stay in effect until the tank is replaced, McGlothin said.

He was hopeful Triton would begin work on the water tank in April. That didn’t happen, and now McGlothin is worried that Triton can’t obtain the needed funding to begin work.

The $2.3 million contract with Triton states that the company will obtain bank financing on the front end to pay for the Ferriday project. The town will then pay Triton back over the course of 20 years.

But, due to the federal credit crunch, Triton is having a difficult time obtaining the financing, McGlothin said.

“If they don’t get (financing) we are going to go a different direction,” he said.

McGlothin has already asked the town attorney to research whether or not the delay on Triton’s part is in violation of the contract.

Because of the boil-water notice, McGlothin began seeking out an emergency grant Tuesday morning. Such a grant might be able to provide enough money to get the tank work started.

The damage at the tank was brought on by years without proper maintenance, Griggs and McGlothin said.

“(The water plant) was a booger bear from the beginning, and it has been for 20 years,” McGlothin said. “You’ve got to treat it like a baby.”