VIDALIA, La. – Gloria Martello, who sued the Town of Ferriday and its engineering firm Monday, did not do it for the money, her lawyer said Wednesday.

&uot;This is hopefully a means by which we can find out what’s wrong with the water plant and what can be done to fix it,&uot;&160;attorney Chuck Norris said at a small press conference held at his Vidalia office.

&uot;It may be that other things flow from this suit, and that’s fine, … (but) the main goal is to hopefully obtain for the people of Ferriday a safe, clean water supply.&uot;

Ferriday has been under a boil water notice since Aug. 20, when the town’s water plant began shutting down repeatedly. The notice has still not been lifted.

Martello, Ferriday resident and owner of Brocato’s Restaurant, filed suit against the town and Baton Rouge engineering firm Owen and White in Seventh Judicial District Court, saying Ferriday’s recent water problems caused its water customers stress and inconvenience.

Martello said she decided to file the suit because of the stress going without usable water has caused her and because she has seen the inconvenience it has caused other residents and business owners.

&uot;I&160;hope that it will result in better water for Ferriday, the people and myself,&uot;&160;Martello said.

If the court certifies the complaint – which does not ask for a specific amount of damages – as a class-action lawsuit, Norris plans to run an ad in both local newspapers telling all Ferriday’s water customers they can join in the suit.

But the court must certify it as a class-action suit first, and no date has yet been set for the court to do so, Norris said.

Ferriday’s water customers include 4,000-plus residents and dozens of businesses.