BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana residents in disaster-declared parishes whose wells or septic systems were damaged by the August flooding could be eligible for financial help from the state and FEMA under the Individuals and Households Program.
You might be eligible to get money to pay for cleaning out septic tanks and repairing or replacing the system, as needed. Damaged private wells that are the sole source of water for your home might qualify as well.
If you have applied for FEMA assistance already, you should let the FEMA inspector know you have a private well and/or septic system.
If you have not yet registered with FEMA, or if you have registered and your house has already been inspected, you can call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 to register or ask for another inspection. Those with speech or hearing impairments can use TTY at 800-462-7585. The toll-free lines are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time seven days a week. To register online with any computer, smartphone or tablet, log onto DisasterAssistance.gov.
Home-repair grants might be available for qualified applicants to restore your home to a livable and sanitary condition. To qualify for this help, you must own your home and it must be your primary residence. Grants are not intended to restore dwellings to pre-disaster conditions and cannot be used for cosmetic work or repairs already covered by insurance.
The deadline to register is Nov. 14.
