It’s trite, of course, but Ferriday residents really couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present. The more than 4,000 residents who use the town’s water system learned Wednesday that the boil-water notice they’d been living under for more than four months was lifted.

And now, for the first time since August, the water that flows from their spigots is safe for drinking, bathing and washing dishes … among other uses.

Thank goodness.

The residents in Ferriday have gone months without one of the basic services expected from its government – the ability to provide clean, safe drinking water.

And residents throughout the Miss-Lou have gotten a lesson in learning not to take the basics of life for granted any longer.

Now, the challenge lies with Ferriday town leaders and workers at the water plant. Thanks to a hefty grant, many of the mechanical and equipment upgrades that were long overdue at the Ferriday water plant are getting done.

The water, while finally drinkable, also should be noticeably clearer than even before August’s boil-water notice was issued.

But the town council leaders must work to maintain the water plant – and the other systems which regulate utilities and the town’s infrastructure – to prevent this type of failure from happening in the future. It’s their responsibility, and the residents’ right to expect the leaders to follow through on that responsibility.

Meanwhile, we’ll join with the folks in Ferriday as we raise a toast to clean, drinkable water … at last.