Press Releases

New Orleans – The mission of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) is first and foremost to protect the health and safety of our customers, New Orleans residents and visitors. To help slow the spread of COVID-19, we are taking the following steps:

Our two customer service centers – 625 St. Joseph Street on the East Bank and 4021 Behrman Place, Suite M-2 on the West Bank – will be closed to the public starting Monday, March 16.  

We encourage our customers to use the following methods to contact us during this emergency.

• Continue to call 52-WATER (504.529.2837) to report issues, ask questions or pay bills.
• You also can reach us by fax at 504.585.2455 or by email at customerservice@swbno.org.
• To pay your SWBNO bill online, visit https://account.swbno.org/app/login.jsp. If you would like to pay over the phone, dial 52-WATER, press 2, then press 1 for automated services. You can also mail a check or money order to Cashiers Department at 625 Saint Joseph Street, New Orleans, LA 70165.
• We are waiving processing fees for customers who pay online or at one of our satellite Fidelity Express payment stations – www.fidelityexpress.co/find-a-location – during this emergency.
• You can reach the Plumbing Department at 504.585.2160 or planreview@swbno.org.
• House Connections can be reached at 504.585.2164 or by fax at 504.585.2475.

Any customers who must reach us in person, such as to drop off documents, we will handle on a case-by-case basis.

All public meetings will be on hold until further notice, including the March 18 Board of Directors meeting.

We have suspended in-person administrative hearings during this emergency for customers with disputed accounts. Our team will be calling customers with scheduled hearings to offer the opportunity to conduct their hearings by phone and to answer any questions.

We have limited our field work that requires disruption in water service to emergency responses only. These outages rarely last more than a few hours. We also are coordinating with DPW on joint projects that may involve water service disruptions to minimize any inconvenience to customers.

Our suspension of shutting off water to customers with delinquent accounts will continue while the declared emergency is in effect. We are actively working to restore water service to those customers currently without it to help them stay safe and healthy. We will prioritize customers who call to inform us that they or someone in their households is a senior or has a chronic medical condition.

We have waived all reconnection fees.

Meanwhile, we continue to encourage everyone to follow the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19. This includes:

• Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds.
• Practice social distancing by remaining at least 6 feet from other people.
• Use hand sanitizer comprised of at least 60% alcohol.
• If you’re showing symptoms, stay home.

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