A bad situation with regards to New Orleans’s flooding problems has become worse: Sewerage and Water Board Officials say two major turbines are inoperable, leaving parts of the city inundated following last night’s and this morning’s heavy downpours.
“The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans’ Turbine No. 4 experienced a mechanical failure this morning,” SWB officials said in a release sent to local media Saturday afternoon. “Teams are working on diagnosing and repairing the turbine, but we anticipate it will remain out of service until further notice. SWBNO Operations is utilizing Frequency Converters and the 3 back-up generators (EMD’s) to distribute power amongst the various Drainage Pumping Stations (DPS's) to continue pumping down canal levels which is needed to drain the streets.”
Another turbine, Turbine 5, has been down since November with what SWB officials say is a “mechanical issue.” They added that it will be at least 10 days before it returns to service.
“Without Turbines 4 and 5 available, any intense rain may cause street flooding in parts of the city that depend on the 25 Hz pumps,” SWB officials said. “Turbine 4 was built in 1915 and Turbine 5 was built in 1958.”
Officials say right now, they’re doing what they can to keep the turbines that are online from failing. Several turbines are running on reduced power. However, the SWB says it’s doing what it can to keep those pumps working.
“Because of this power deficit, our Operations Team will strategically send back-up power to stations that will lower canal levels for street flooding to go down.”
