Belief: Microplastics Are Clearly Measured in Terrebonne Parish Water
A prevailing assumption is that municipal water systems routinely monitor microplastics concentrations and that these results are readily available to residents. In Terrebonne Parish, the Schriewer Water Treatment Service Area serves over 116,000 people via surface water sources, with no health-based violations reported. However, federal or local government data sets contain no monitoring data for microplastics in this public water system. This means no official measurement has been documented or validated to confirm the presence or absence of microplastics in treated water at the tap within this system.
Belief: Treated Water at the Tap Includes Untreated Microplastics Without Variation
It may be thought that microplastics present in surface water sources pass through treatment unchanged. While the Schriewer Water Treatment Service Area applies a series of advanced treatment processes coded as 160, 200, 220, 345, 380, 403, and 447, these processes collectively address a range of contaminants typically found in surface water. Though absence of microplastics data means we cannot quantify removal at this system, specialized filtering equipment—such as the C-Series Microplastics Filter—can be configured at the household level to capture microscopic particulate matter including microplastics once water reaches your home, improving what your tap delivers.
Belief: Public Water System Records Directly Represent What Each Home's Water Contains
Records from the public water system describe the source and treatment applied to water delivered broadly in Terrebonne Parish but do not describe the specific condition of water inside household plumbing. For example, the lead level recorded at the 90th percentile in 2025 was 0.001 mg/L, reflecting distribution system and plumbing contributions rather than the source water itself. Microplastics, if present, would likewise vary in concentration depending on household plumbing, water use, and any additional filtration or treatment performed at the home.
Belief: Plumbing Materials and Home Age Do Not Affect Microplastic Levels
Plastic-based plumbing and older piping materials can contribute microplastic particles independently of the water source or municipal treatment. The Schriewer Water Treatment Service Area’s treated water is surface-sourced and managed centrally, but the mechanical wear, degradation, and interactions within household plumbing can influence microplastic content at the tap. Understanding how your plumbing may add to or reduce microplastic particulate is key to assessing your water’s quality.
Belief: Household and Commercial Operators Need the Same Microplastic Information
While residential users focus on personal health and aesthetic water quality, commercial or industrial operators face additional questions about process water consistency and regulatory compliance. Household microplastic concerns hinge on particle presence and removal at the point of use, which can be addressed with products like the C-Series Microplastics Filter designed for residential water systems. Commercial water managers may require broader testing protocols and treatment scalability beyond household filtration.
Belief: Microplastics Enter Terrebonne Parish Water Mainly Through Groundwater Contamination
In this region, the primary water source is surface water rather than groundwater. Microplastics generally arise from fragmentation of larger plastic debris, fibers shed from clothing, tires, and urban runoff, which accumulate more readily in surface water bodies. Therefore, microplastic introduction likely occurs upstream in rivers and bodies feeding the system rather than from groundwater leaching. Distribution system maintenance and treatment focus on these surface water challenges rather than groundwater contamination routes.
Next Steps: Testing Your Household Water for Microplastics
The only definitive way to understand your home’s microplastic concentration is by ordering certified laboratory testing of your tap water. Such testing involves collecting samples to measure particles in the microscopic size range categorized as microplastics. A conclusive result from this test will settle questions about your water’s microplastic content and allow informed decisions about whether to employ filtration options such as the C-Series Microplastics Filter, which ships ready to configure for household use and can reduce microplastic particles reaching your taps.
Where this information comes from
Source: EPA SDWIS public water system record. Sampled 2025-12-31. These figures describe the public water system's record, not the plumbing inside any individual building.
On record: EPA SDWIS record for SCHRIEVER WATER TREATMENT SERVICE AREA (LA1109002), surface water supply, serving 116460 people: 0 health-based violations of 6 total; lead 90th percentile 0.001 mg/L