‘Not out of the woods yet’ amid water struggles post snowfall
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Parish leaders say water conservation efforts are working to help restore water pressure, but some people are still urged to continue conserving it.
As the snow melts, about 20 crews with New Orleans’ Sewerage and Water Board, stationed across the city, work to repair water main breaks.
One crew completed work at the corner of Martin Luther King Junior Blvd. and Magnolia Street around noon on Friday.
One more chilly night for NOLA before weekend warm-up
“So, we had a water main here. The crew got this fixed,” said SWBNO General Superintendent Steve Nelson. “They’re moving to another one over on Third [Street] right now, and they’ll be finishing that off, going to another main, and working through the weekend.”
Nelson says they’ve notified about 400 customers about possible breaks with the help of their smart meter program.
“When we see a customer that’s got 100, 200, 300 gallons-per-hour usage, a lot more than if you were trickling a faucet or two, that’s indicating a break,” explained Nelson. “We’re sending notifications for customers, so be sure to check your email. Look at your alerts from Sewerage and Waterboard. You may be getting an automated alert, and if you get one of those, go out and shut your water off.”
St. Bernard Parish remains under a precautionary boil advisory, but according to Parish President Louis Pomes, they have made much progress, thanks to customers’ water conservation efforts.
“We were able to increase the pressure this morning,” said Pomes. “We’re back up to 20 psi, the pressure in the main lines, and every couple hours, we’re going to increase it a little more every couple of hours.”
Second Harvest making thousands of meals for seniors stuck in snow
Jefferson Parish leaders say people can resume regular water usage, thanks to their efforts on conserving water this week.
Nelson believes the City of New Orleans will get there, too.
“We’re not out of the woods. We’ve got a day or two left. We’re still a bit low, but really in a much more stable place,” said Nelson. “[We] really want to thank our customers for doing that.”
Boil advisories also remain in effect for the City of Gretna, Lafourche Parish Water District No. 1 and parts of St. John Parish.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
Latest Posts
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO.
