The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans is warning residents ahead of expected rainfall this weekend that it is still not up to full drainage capacity.
"Turbines 4 and 5 remain temporarily out of order," a statement from SWBNO reads.
As a results, the agency said they can only operate at 63 percent of their peak power demand.
While this will not affect the number of pumps available, it will slow their ability to pump rainwater into canals leading to Lake Pontchartrain.
"Given our fragile power status, we cannot be too careful going into this weekend," said Executive Director Ghassan Korban. "We have the power and personnel resources to handle the currently forecasted rainfall, which is one to two inches of rain over the course of several hours. However, we lack the redundancy to address greater rainfall, mechanical failures, or an Entergy loss of power."
Korban warned that if any of those failures happen, draining the streets "will take longer than customers are accustomed to."
SWBNO says it has 94 of 99 drainage pumps available.
Pumps are out at the following areas:
- DPS 3 on Florida Ave near Hwy 90: D Pump out of service due to replacement of bearing housing unit.
4 additional drainage pumps available at this station + 4 constant duty pumps
- DPS 10 at Haynes Blvd. and Shubrick Ave. at Citrus Canal: No. 1 Pump out of service
3 additional drainage pumps available at this station
- DPS 13 near Tall Timbers Algiers: No. 4 Pump on standby for Emergency Use Only.
5 additional drainage pumps available at this station + one constant duty pump
- DPS 17 near Florida Ave. and Peoples: Pumps A & D out of service due to issues with the electric motor.
Please note, DPS 17 is serviced by DPS No. 19 located on Florida Ave and the west side of the Industrial Canal.
Click here for the Sewerage & Water Board's interactive map of the drainage system.
