SWBNO kicks off ambitious, long-term Master Plan, vowing customers’ values will be top priority
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 29, 2020 2:30 PM
New Orleans – Today, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) launched an ambitious effort to bring together its needs, goals, strategies, and vision for the future under a single, integrated Master Plan. This work will culminate in a clear path forward – using our “One Water, One Vision” framework – to best deliver water services to our customers and keep New Orleans safe and healthy for future generations.
This Master Plan process will be guided by extensive outreach and development of a shared community vision for how to invest in our water, wastewater and stormwater systems. With that in mind, we have established a SWBNO Customer Advisory Committee which will serve as an official venue to give our customers a voice as we begin our planning and engagement process. It will create a pathway for us to better understand our community’s needs and priorities. That way, the work we do at SWBNO will better reflect their values.
“To create a better utility, we all must work together, toward a shared goal. This Master Plan will give us that roadmap,” SWBNO Executive Director Ghassan Korban said. “And this plan will be even more significant because it will be based on our customers needs and desires from a top-notch utility. I look forward to collaborating with the Customer Advisory Committee to guide our plan for the future.”
Customers interested in serving on the committee can visit swbno.org/projects/masterplan. In the coming month, the Executive Director will select 11 customers to serve. SWBNO is interested in appointing members who represent the diversity our customer base, and who reflect the broadest possible cross section of New Orleans’ viewpoints.
Our multi-year Master Plan process will include several phases of research, analysis, community outreach and visioning to complete. Done right, it will renew our culture of sound decision-making, improve our efficiency, save money, and inject proactivity into setting our maintenance priorities. More importantly, it will bring sustainability and resilience to the fore as New Orleans continues to adapt to its swiftly changing environment.
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