S&WB releases action plan for troubled New Orleans water system, says funding is needed
The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board on Monday evening released an action plan to secure its water distribution network, following four major pipe ruptures in less than two months that flooded homes and caused boil-water advisories.
The plan, which is largely unfunded, calls for urgent repairs to high-risk water mains, replacement of the oldest large water mains and a broad assessment of the entire system. The costs over the next two years are likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars, though assessments are needed to come up with precise estimates. Billions more will be needed to secure the system in the long term.
Replacing 34 miles of large water mains that are over 100 years old — which is just a fraction of the 1,600-mile transmission system — could cost as much as $680 million, according to the S&WB.
The plan identifies eight urgent repairs where leaks have been spotted within the last year. Some of those repairs have begun, but the S&WB says it needs $3 million to complete them. Those locations are:
- South Claiborne and 3rd Street
- Filmore Avenue and Cartier Avenue
- 4800 block of Florida Avenue
- Downman Road and Dwyer Road
- Burgundy and Deslonde
- South Dupre Street and Howard Avenue
- Chef Menteur Highway and Industrial Boulevard
- South Carrollton Avenue and Birch Street.
A 2003 S&WB consultant study pegged the cost of replacing 60% of the water transmission system at $2.8 billion, with consultants noting even then that water mains “are beyond or nearing the end of their design life.”
“SWBNO has been unable to fund a program of this magnitude, leading to yearly maintenance consisting of fixing major leaks,” the plan released on Monday said.
About 7% of the system was replaced in recent years with a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, but several of the projects bid under that program didn’t receive funding. The S&WB is seeking $27.5 million to complete those projects.