According the findings from a Sewerage and Waterboard Task Force, New Orleans' drainage system should be run entirely by the Sewerage and Water Board, without participation from the Department of Public Works.
That was the major recommendation from a draft report issued Friday by the legislative committee, which was formed by state law to evaluate how the utility is modeled, following its billing and flooding failures since 2017.
The committee is recommending the city stop the split of drainage responsibility between the S&WB and the DPW to make sure calls for service are better handled.
The two public agencies have been working together to run the aging drainage system.
The report also says the drainage department will run out of cash this year without a new source of revenue. That's a familiar problem for the cash-strapped agency that has prompted ongoing talks of a levying an additional drainage fee on customers.
The committee is scheduled to present its report this Monday at 1:30 p.m. at a public meeting at the S&WB headquarters.