No quick fix for New Orleans water main breaks
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Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans crews fix a broken water main Uptown. Photo: Courtesy of SWBNO
At least one thing is clear in the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans' new plan to prevent more main breaks: None of the fixes will be quick or cheap.
Why it matters: Residents are demanding action after a string of water main breaks in recent months.
The big picture: SWBNO's initial action plan outlines eight "mission critical" projects for stabilizing the city's drinking water system.
- Those $3 million in repairs will "likely take several months" to finish, the report says.
- "We understand the frustration and inconvenience this places on our customers, and we are working with urgency to stabilize the system," SWBNO says in the plan.
Zoom in: The utility also wants to assess the condition of the oldest water mains in the system, which are near the Carrollton water treatment plant.
- About 34 miles of those mains are more than 100 years old.
- SWBNO wants to start the $1 million assessment project within the next two months.
- It would cost about $680 million to fully replace the pipes, the report says. SWBNO says it expects to have a list of priorities and cost estimates later this year.
Zoom out: Councilmembers JP Morrell and Aimee McCarron tell Axios they are reviewing the proposed plan.
- They have been vocal about their requests for urgent action from the utility to prevent more breaks.
- "This [plan] seems to be a reaction to criticism and an attempt to shape their failing narrative that they are doing something other than haphazardly reacting to foreseeable infrastructure challenges," Morrell said in a statement to Axios.
- Mayor Helena Moreno and the council are pushing for legislative reform that would give the city more oversight of the utility.
What's next: Randy Hayman, the utility's executive director, is expected to give a status update at Wednesday's SWBNO board meeting.
- The City Council will also meet Wednesday at 10am to hear updates about the plan and the recent breaks.
- Both meetings will be livestreamed and open to the public.
Go deeper: See the full plan and the highlights.