FERRIDAY, La. — Disputes over whether a waterway is public or private are not limited to Adams County.

On March 22, the Concordia Parish Police Jury voted to seek information on whether Turtle Lake and nearby Brushy Bayou are public or private.

But as of Friday, the District Attorney’s Office — which handles legal matters for the police jury — had not yet returned to the jury with its findings, said jury President Charlie Blaney. &uot;We’re still waiting on an opinion from them,&uot;&160;he said.

Turtle Lake is located north of U.S. 84 west of Ferriday, and Brushy Bayou extends into northwest Concordia Parish, eventually running parallel with the Tensas River.

The issue started when parish resident Larson Allwell told jurors that the lake and bayou had been posted, that the bayou had been fenced, and that he had been ejected from the lake for duck hunting.

Allwell could not be reached for comment Friday.

At the March 22 meeting, jurors said both Turtle Lake and Brushy Bayou are part of the parish’s drainage system. According to Louisiana state law, if a waterway is navigable, it is public property, Blaney said.

But roads are only public if they meet public road specifications, regardless of whether they go to a public lake or not, he added.

&uot;To get a road dedicated (public), you have to go to the police jury, and we get the parish engineer to see whether it’s up to our specs,&uot;&160;Blaney said. &uot;We won’t take a road in unless it does.&uot;

Those specifications include the width of the road and the depth of gravel on its surface.