S&WB Storm Water Pumping Capacity Further
Diminished in East Bank of New Orleans West of Industrial Canal
Residents Urged to
Move Vehicles to Higher Ground, Stay off Roadways During Rainfall; Press Conference at 2:30 a.m.
NEW ORLEANS—Last night,
the Sewerage & Water Board lost service to one of its power turbines, which
provides power to a majority of the City’s
pumping stations serving the East Bank of New
Orleans. As a result, the system’s capacity to drain storm water from
the streets is diminished further for the East Bank of New Orleans, west of the Industrial Canal. This does not affect New Orleans East, Lower Ninth Ward and Algiers.
Due to potential rainfall
forecasted by National Weather Service over the
course of the next day, the City is urging residents in the affected
area to move their vehicles to higher ground, take necessary actions to protect
personal property, and stay off of roadways during
rainstorms unless an emergency makes it absolutely necessary to do so.
Pumping stations in Algiers, New Orleans East and Lower Ninth Ward are
operating off of a separate power source and
therefore are not impacted by this outage.
At this time, drinking water and sewerage services for all of the city are not affected by this outage.
Crews are on site now working to repair the down turbine and
secure backup power to restore power to the pumping stations.
Due to the potentially severe weather that could result from
high water, residents should call 911 to report street flooding and
life-threatening emergencies. Residents are advised to remain indoors during
heavy rainfall.
The City will keep residents updated through email alerts
and the @NOLAReady Twitter account.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu and
emergency officials will hold a press conference at 2:15 a.m. with more
information.
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