S&WB contractor accused of dumping raw sewage in New Orleans East street

A contractor working for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board is accused of dumping sewage into a New Orleans East street in May. A report by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality described an incident on May 21 where a contractor admitted to pumping hundreds of gallons of raw sewage into a ditch on the 11000 block of Almonaster New Orleans East. According to the report, a contractor working for the Sewerage and Water Board said that a sewer force main broke and that he was instructed by the S&WB to dump the sewage into a ditch. At this time, it is unclear if the S&WB faced any consequences in connection with the incident. WDSU has reached out to the S&WB for a response to the allegations and received the following statement: “Sewerage and Water Board’s top priority in operating the sewer system is to protect public health and the environment.”When a sewer force main break occurs, our crews work quickly to contain the situation. The primary response is to bypass pump and redirect sewerage to the nearest available gravity sanitary sewer system. In this case there was no nearby gravity sanitary sewer system available. As a result, crews implemented an alternative containment strategy by bypassing and temporarily storing the sewage to prevent any potential contamination. The repairs were completed by May 21, 2025.”In the event that sewage reaches a canal, our crews will remove the contamination. If removal is not possible, our protocol is to dilute and flush the affected canal to minimize public health and environmental impacts.”We remain committed to taking every precaution necessary to safeguard public health during these types of incidents.”LDEQ issued the following statement regarding the investigation: “The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans reported the release in its monthly Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR), as required. This information is publicly available in LDEQ’s Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) on Page 9 of 13 at this link.”LDEQ’s Emergency Response team has reviewed and assessed the complaint associated with the reported release. For larger facilities that undergo regular inspections, it is standard practice for any overflows, releases, or bypasses to be reviewed as part of the facility’s full Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI) rather than through multiple separate referrals. This approach ensures that all incidents are documented comprehensively and considered collectively for potential enforcement action.”Although the complaint has been closed, this does not preclude the Department from taking appropriate enforcement action if violations are identified during the CEI.”