Press Releases

New Orleans, LA – Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) closely monitors significant weather events when forecasted. As inclement weather is anticipated, SWBNO’s focus is to ensure that we have the equipment, personnel, and operational strategies to manage the anticipated weather conditions.

We are communicating with our partners at the City of New Orleans, NOLA Ready, Entergy, the Levee District, and the National Weather Service to ensure a coordinated response. Our teams closely monitor the evolving weather conditions, and we encourage residents to remain weather aware. For real-time updates, follow our partners at @NWSNew Orleans and @NOLAReady on Twitter or text NOLAREADY to 77295.

As a reminder, we ask residents to clean in front of their catch basins removing any trash or debris/leaves. At full capacity, our system can pump out an inch of rain in the first hour and a half-an-inch of rain every hour thereafter. Any intense rainfall exceeding our capacity may cause street flooding.

 

Our Response

Staffing Operations: For inclement weather events, we increase staffing at drainage pumping stations and will strategically place crews across the city to respond quickly to any operational need that may arise during this weather event.

Drainage Operations: Crews are preparing for inclement weather and lowering drainage canal levels. These efforts will continue throughout the day. 88 of 93 drainage pumps are currently available. 

For the latest updates on individual pump status, please visit our Pumping and Power Dashboard: https://www.swbno.org/Projects/PumpingAndPower.

Power Operations: We will utilize the Sullivan Substation as the power source for the new Static Frequency Changers (SFC)s during the upcoming inclement weather event. Following lessons learned during TS Arthur, we have adjusted the SFC settings to better accommodate significant voltage sags. These changes are intended to improve the ability of the static frequency changers to remain online during significant voltage fluctuations. Individual pumps may still be impacted by a combination of factors in the electrical distribution system, including voltage fluctuations or issues with the underground feeders. Note that the electrical feeder issue experienced at DPS 3 on October 4, 2026, has been addressed by modifying operational protocol to use two power sources (SFCs and FC#3) for DPS 3. The team will utilize the rotary frequency changer this weekend as a second power source for the pumps at DPS 3, to avoid additional interruption (see below for full report).

We have sufficient power to operate our older pumps to be able to pump out an inch of rain in the first hour and a half-an-inch of rain every hour thereafter. Any intense rainfall exceeding our capacity may cause street flooding.

Primary Equipment status:

• SFC1 is available for use.
• SFC2 is available for use.
• SFC3 is available for use.
• Turbine 6 is available for use as an alternate to the substation to provide power for SFCs.
• Turbine 7 is available for use as an alternate to the substation to provide power for SFCs.

Backup 25-hz equipment status:

• 5 out of 5 EMDS available for service.
• Frequency Changer #1 at Carrollton Frequency Changer Facility is available for use. 
• Frequency Changer #2 at Carrollton Frequency Changer Facility available for use.
• Frequency Changer #3 at Station D is available for use.
• Frequency Changer #4 at Station D is out of service.
• Frequency Changer #3 at Algiers Water Treatment Facility out of service.
• Turbine 5 is available for emergency use only.

Underpass Stations:

• At Old Carrollton Underpass Station, 3 out of 3 pumps are out of service. A temporary pump has been deployed in the interim. The permanent pump replacement is currently underway. 

All other underpass pumps are in service.

Minor Drainage System

• SWBNO crews are responding to 311 calls for service. In preparation for this event, crews will focus on cleaning the catch basins at underpass stations, as well as the reports from this past weekend’s reported flood locations.
• Contractor crews are working in Treme, Lower Garden District, and the Audubon neighborhoods.
• If needed after the event, the contractor can provide additional crews to supplement SWBNO staff in responding after a storm.

Emergency Hotline Available

Our Emergency Hotline remains staffed and available 24/7. Customers can report leaks and other water or sewer-related emergencies by calling 52-WATER. To report an accident or street flooding, please call 311.

Stay Prepared and Weather Aware 

Residents are advised to remove debris in front of their catch basins ahead of the rain. Leaves and trash can clog our drainage system, preventing rainwater from flowing through and increasing the chances of street flooding. Please report clogged/damaged catch basins by reporting online at https://www.swbno.org/Stormwater/FloodTracker or calling 311.

 

Significant Rainfall Event Update: 10/3 and 10/4

As predicted, the New Orleans area received significant rainfall this past weekend (10/3 and 10/4) with some news stations reporting 6 to 9 inches recorded over a 48-hour period. Our station in Mid City (DPS 2) recorded 8 inches this past weekend. 

Overall, our drainage pump stations performed well and there were no issues with the Power Complex.

We encountered some issues on Sunday, October 4 that we would like to share with the public, as well. 

• Carrollton Underpass: Flooding started around 11:00AM and was resolved around 3:00PM due to trash impacting the temporary pumps functionality. The permanent pump replacement is currently underway. 
• Canal Underpass: We experienced high water levels at this pump station between 11:45AM and 12:15PM; our pumps were able to keep up after that time period.
• DPS 3, which drains the Fairgrounds and the St Bernard Neighborhood, experienced a brief electrical interruption due to issues with underground feeders (please note: this is not power complex related). This resulted in only one pump being online for about 30 minutes until the issue was resolved. The team will utilize the rotary frequency changer this upcoming weekend as a second power source for the pumps at DPS 3, to avoid additional interruption.

Our Drainage Networks team is collecting the list of other flooded areas for evaluating and cleaning. We would like to remind residents to report any lingering drainage issues or damaged catch basins on our FloodTracker on our website or by calling to report to 311. During active storms, please report accidents or street flooding by calling 911.