FERRIDAY, La. – A hearing to decide whether a lawsuit over the quality of water in Ferriday should be class certified began Monday in Seventh Judicial District Court.

On Monday, Judge Kathy Johnson heard more than six hours of testimony from former Water Supervisor William McKeel, ex-Mayor Odeal Montgomery and Mildred McKinney.

&uot;Healthy, safe water is what I’m asking for, and to be compensated for my inconvenience,&uot; McKinney, a water customer and Ferriday Wal-Mart employee, told the court Monday afternoon.

McKinney testified that she had to haul water from a National Guard tanker near her home for two days in mid-August 1999 because Ferriday’s water plant had shut down completely.

After water service was restored, a boil notice was still in effect until Dec. 23, 1999. McKinney said that during that time, she bought water from Wal-Mart or got it from her stepmother’s house to bathe her children and to cook with and drink.

Many customers also came to Wal-Mart to buy cases of bottled water at a time, she testified.

She said she also believes that bathing with Ferriday water caused her son to break out in sores. She admitted that medical personnel couldn’t tell her what caused the sores.

Gloria Martello filed suit Oct. 25, 1999 against Ferriday and engineers Owen and White. U.S. Filter, maker of Ferriday’s water plant, was later added as a defendant. Martello, a Ferriday resident and restaurant owner, charged that a 124-day boil water notice in effect for the town in late 1999 caused water customers stress and inconvenience.

The hearing will resume at 9:30 a.m. today, and the court has also set aside Thursday and Friday to hear testimony. If the suit becomes a class action, every Ferriday water customer – 4,000-plus residents and dozens of businesses – could join the suit and would be entitled to a portion of damages awarded.

Earlier Monday, Montgomery testified about steps the town took to notify residents of the boil notice and to help lift the notice.

She stated that the town distributed flyers and put notices in newspapers and on the radio and television telling customers how to make their tap water safe – namely, by bringing it to a rolling boil for at least five minutes.

Montgomery also testified that Ferriday has had water problems – such as an odor and brown tint to the water – for years, ever since the current water plant was built in the mid-1980s. And she said the town had to seek grants from outside sources to improve its water system.

McKeel was Ferriday’s water supervisor for several months in 1999 in addition to serving as the town’s sewer supervisor. He noted that then-Town Attorney John Sturgeon was appointed by Montgomery to oversee improvements needed to get the boil notice lifted.

Still, McKeel was able to testify that the Louisiana Office of Public Health did require the town to make several improvements to its water plant to lift the notice.

That included, recalibrating the plant’s turbidity, or clarity, meters; fixing the computer that operates the plant; making improvements to the water intake system; and cleaning filters and tanks.

&uot;It wasn’t that the water wasn’t good&uot; before the whole checklist was completed, McKeel said. &uot;It was just that everything on the list had to be done.&uot;