Water Treatment Plant, National Leprosarium, Carville, Louisiana. Image Courtesy of the National Hansen's Disease Museum, Permanent Collection. Carville, LA.

In the earliest days of the Louisiana Leper Home, cisterns collected water for use by the staff and patients.

When the federal government took over operational control, the water supply was upgraded with a filtration plant.

After the 1920s, the hospital at Carville could provided its own fresh water supply from the Mississippi River.

A pumping station and pipeline from the River brought water into the sand and gravel filtration treatment plant several blocks away.

Later on, several wells dug on the 400 acre site provided water for the plant.

After several well failures in the last decade, the water system was tied into a local municipality. Since the mid-2000s, the water plant has been used as a distribution point only.