Sewerage & Water Board: Pumps have returned canals to normal levels after morning flooding - FOX 8 Local First

Sewerage & Water Board: Pumps have returned canals to normal levels after morning flooding

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans said that its power-hampered pumps have caught up with morning flood waters in the city as of Saturday afternoon (Dec. 2).

“With the break in the weather forecast, Operations has pumped down the canals to normal levels for all of the DPS (drainage pumping stations),” the utility said in a statement at 12:37 p.m. “We will continue to pump down the canals throughout the day to provide additional storage capacity.”

The S&WB acknowledged earlier that its Turbine No. 4 “experienced a mechanical failure” early Saturday morning, a power loss that hampered its ability to efficiently pump out Saturday’s significant rainfall in an efficient manner.

Turbine No. 5 already has been down since last month, the S&WB said, also because of a “mechanical issue” that is under repair. That turbine won’t be operational again for about 10 days, the statement said.

Residents in several parts of New Orleans awoke to find street flooding that had begun to inundate some low-lying vehicles and homes.

The flooding was especially concentrated in the Uptown, Broadmoor, Gert Town and Lakeview areas, according to NOLA Ready’s Streetwise flooding map.

The S&WB said, “Teams are working on diagnosing and repairing the turbine, but we anticipate it will remain out of service until further notice. SWBNO Operations is utilizing frequency converters and the three backup generators to distribute power amongst the various drainage pumping stations to continue pumping down canal levels, which is needed to drain the streets.”

The statement warned residents to remain weather-aware with more rain expected throughout the day and evening.

“Without Turbines 4 and 5 available, any intense rain will cause street flooding,” the utility warned. “Turbine 4 was built in 1915 and Turbine 5 was built in 1958.

“Because of this power deficit, our operations team will strategically send backup power to stations that will lower canal levels for street flooding to go down. Again, with Turbines 4 and 5 down, high intensity rain is going to cause localized street flooding.”

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