New power source ready in time for hurricane season, SWBNO says

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Between the end of last hurricane season and the beginning of this one, there have been some positive updates to some long-running sewerage and water board projects.

[00:00:09]>> That is a much better place to be this year over last.

[00:00:11]>> Tuesday, we talked with the city's deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, Steve Nelson. He says if the city floods from a hurricane or just a strong storm, people should notice improved drainage moving forward. The biggest reason is this multi-million dollar substation. It was designed to replace the turbines that have powered the city's pumps for more than a century. Power failure had become a common culprit behind flooded streets.

[00:00:36]By the peak of last hurricane season, it still wasn't ready thanks to last-minute issues with three important components called frequency changers. Tuesday, a spokesperson confirmed all three are now in service.

[00:00:48]>> Sounds like they're operating well and folks are pleased with the results. So, they've got 93, I think, megawatts of power. They need 44, so plenty of power available going into hurricane season.

[00:00:59]>> Nelson says there's also been progress in cleaning the city's more than 70,000 catch basins. Last January, the city made catch basins the sewerage and water board's responsibility. It got off to a slow start with them this year. Nelson says they didn't get funding for a contractor until March. But since then, they've pulled a million and a half pounds of debris from the basins.

[00:01:19]>> So, starting with that and then also with those frequency changers being able to have those online within 5 to 10 minutes as opposed to 30 plus, those things together should make an appreciable difference.

[00:01:32]>> Hurricane season started Monday. It usually peaks around September.

[00:01:36]Rachel Handley, WWL Louisiana.

[00:01:39]>> And I made all of this as changes also coming to the sewerage and water board's leadership structure. Last week, state lawmakers passed a bill to give the mayor's office and the council more control of the board. Well, today the mayor announced the creation of the public utility modernization process subgroup that is called pumps. She says it will be made up of city council members and infrastructure, finance, and drainage experts to pass on the recommendations to the council.