drainage maintenance changes [Video]

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – After years of discussion and planning, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) will formally take over catch basin maintenance and related drainage work starting January 1, 2025.

Councilmembers hope the new plan will ease chronic flooding, but challenges remain. Catch basin cleaning is often seen as the culprit, and with 75-thousand catch basins, the city never seems to catch up.

The shift, approved through state legislation earlier this year, transfers responsibility from the Department of Public Works to the SWBNO, with the goal of tracking chronic flooding issues exacerbated by neglected infrastructure.

“It’s a great start this put us in a place to perform, we need to prove we can do the work,” said SWBNO General Superintendent Steve Nelson.

Maintaining the city’s 75,000 catch basins and 1.5 million linear feet of connecting drainage pipes will not come cheap. City officials estimate the annual …