WDSU Anchors Travers Mackel, Gina Swanson grill S&WB on lack of communication during widespread f...

TAMMANY PARISH. WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES. ALL RIGHT. WE CERTAINLY SAW POCKETS OF STANDING WATER, NOT JUST ON THE NORTH SHORE, BUT IN THE LAKEVIEW AREA. AND WE WERE TRYING TO GET SOME ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PUMPS AND THE SITUATION WITH THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD? YEAH. JOINING US LIVE ON THE PHONE, STEVE NELSON, THE GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD, MR. NELSON, WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. SO LET'S JUST, I GUESS, CUT RIGHT TO THE CHASE, IF YOU WILI. A LOT OF PUMPS HAD ISSUES. ONE, TWO, SIX, SEVEN, 12, 14. IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE EVERY NUMBER FROM 1 TO 15 HAD AN ISSUE. IT SEEMS LIKE HERE'S THE BIG QUESTION THAT WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOU THE QUESTIONS THAT WE FEEL LIKE OUR VIEWERS WANT TO KNOW. WHAT TOOK SO LONG FOR THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE I'LL USE LAKEVIEW AS AN EXAMPLE. PUMP STATION SIX SERVICES LAKEVIEW. IF YOU GUYS HAD MAYBE TOLD THEM AT 11:00 LAST NIGHT, HEY, IT'S OFF. IT WENT OFF FOR AN HOUR AND IT AIN'T WORKING. MAYBE PEOPLE COULD HAVE MOVED THEIR CARS TO HIGHER GROUND. YEAH. SO AT STATION SIX, THERE'S ACTUALLY 14 PUMPS AT SIX. SO WE HAD WE DID HAVE ISSUES WITH TWO OF THE PUMPS AT SIX. AND THOSE ISSUES WERE TAKING PLACE PRIMARILY AROUND THAT. THAT PROBLEM WITH THE EMDS SHORTLY AFTER NINE AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO TO LEARN FOR US. WE WANT TO WE WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE. WE HAD THAT DASHBOARD UP THAT WAS LIVE SHOWS, PUMPS UP AND LIVE AND RUNNING THAT FOLKS CAN CHECK AT ST. AUG ANYTIME. BUT WITH STATION SIX AGAIN, WE HAD THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE PUMPS WERE RUNNING STATION 12. WE DID HAVE AN ISSUE EARLIER IN THE DAY, BUT THAT CAME THAT PUMP CAME BACK ON RELATIVELY QUICKLY AND THEN STATION SEVEN, WHICH IS THE OTHER STATION THAT SERVES LAKEVIEW. THERE ARE MULTIPLE PUMPS AT THAT STATION AS WELL, AND THEY WERE RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE EVENT. SO YEAH, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO DO A BETTER JOB OF COMMUNICATION LESSONS LEARNED THERE IN IN COMMUNICATING IN DIFFERENT FORMS. IF FOLKS NOT EVERYBODY IS ON THE INTERNET OR LOOKING ON THE WEBSITES, WE DO WANT TO, OF COURSE, MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE AND CONTINUE TO IMPROVE AS BEST WE CAN. AND LOOK, I HATE TO ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACK IT HERE, BUT IT IS A BIG TALKER. I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT'S FRUSTRATING TO SO MANY PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS IS THIS IS PROBABLY, WITH ALL HONESTY, THE SIXTH OR EIGHTH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO HEAR THAT SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD IS SAYING, WE NEED TO GET BETTER, BUT WHEN DO YOU GET BETTER? BECAUSE HERE'S AN EXAMPLE. AND IT'S AN APPLES TO ORANGES COMPARISON. CYNTHIA LEE SHENG WAS DOING INTERVIEWS WITH US AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING. SHE'S THE PARISH PRESIDENT. WHY WAS NOBODY WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION AVAILABLE AT ALL UNTIL THIS MORNING TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT WAS GOING ON? YEAH. SO FOR FOR MYSELF, GOING UP UNTIL 1:00 AS SUPERINTENDENT, I'M AT THAT TIME FROM ABOUT 10:00 TO 1:00 DEALING WITH ISSUES WITH THE EMDS, WORKING ON ISSUES WITH SEWER OVERFLOWS. SO THAT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE'VE GOT TO WORK WITH ON OUR ON OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. FOR MYSELF, I KNOW THAT WHEHEN I'VE GOT ISSUES OF AN ENGINEERING NATURE THAT UNFORTUNATELY HAS GOT TO BE MY MY PERSONAL FIRST, FIRST COURSE OF ACTION. BUT YES, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WITH PRESS RELEASES AGAIN. THE WEBSITE THAT INFORMATION IS BEING UPDATED ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO HAVING FACE TO FACE INTERVIEWS, I HATE TO CUT YOU OFF. IT WAS NOT UPDATED IN A TIMELY MANNER LAST NIGHT. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. NOT TO CUT YOU OFF. IT WAS NOT UPDATED. NO. UNDERSTOOD. AND AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM TO TO TRY AND IMPROVE THAT COMMUNICATION, MAKE FOLKS MORE AVAILABLE. AND YES, THAT DULY NOTED. AND UNDERSTOOD. ALL RIGHT, MR. NELSON, WHILE I HAVE YOU HERE, YOU KNOW, AS WE HEAD INTO THESE EVENTS, WE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT PUMP CAPACITY, WHICH PUMPS ARE READY. THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD IS READY. OR AS PREPARED AS IT CAN BE. AND MANY TIMES AFTER A RAIN EVENT, WE ARE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS WAS THE AMOUNT OF WATER DID IT TAKE YOU BY SURPRISE TO SEE THE STANDING WATER, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS OF LAKEVIEW WITH PEOPLE TAKING ON WATER IN THEIR HOMES OR WAS THIS AN UNANTICIPATED OUTCOME, OR DID WE EXPECT A SCENARIO LIKE THIS TO UNFOLD? WELL, THE RAINFALL RATES THAT WE SAW LAST NIGHT WHEN WE GOT TO THAT LAST JUST ABOUT 45 MINUTES. SO UP UNTIL ABOUT 838, 15 YESTERDAY, THE RAINFALL RATES WERE ABOUT AN INCH AN HOUR OR INCH TO AN INCH AND A QUARTER, WHICH OUR SYSTEM CAN HANDLE. AND GENERALLY HANDLES PRETTY WELL. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MONITORING THE CANAL LEVELS IN REAL TIME AND DID NOT SEE ISSUES S UNTIL ABOUT THAT TIME. AND IN THAT LAST 45 MINUTES OR SO, GETTING GETTING TWO PLUS INCHES OF RAIN IN AN HOUR OR LESS, UNFORTUNATELY, DOES PUT RAIN ON THE STREETS. AND THAT IS WHERE A SITUATION WITH DPS SIX HAVING EMDS GO OFFLINE. WE DID NOT SEE THE CANAL LEVELS RISE AFTER THE EMDS WENT OFF, BUT IT DID TAKE ABOUT AN EXTRA HOUR TO GET SOME OF THAT WATER OFF THE STREET. SO IT DOES IT DOES HAVE AN EFFECT AND HAVING HEAVY WEATHER LIKE THAT AT THE END, WITH THE EYEWALL MOVING JUST A LITTLE BIT EAST, PUT US IN THAT BAND WITH HEAVIER WEATHER. WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT AS A PERSON WHO HAS COVERED SEVERAL STORMS, TRAVERS HAS, I KNOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS SEVERAL TIMES. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PUMPING SYSTEM THAT IS OVERWHELMED AND NEEDS TIME TO CATCH UP, AND THEN WHEN THERE IS ALSO A FAILURE IN THE SYSTEM, IS THAT WHAT WE SAW LAST NIGHT? NUMBER ONE, AND THEN NUMBER TWO, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A CATEGORY TWO STORM AS IT MADE LANDFALL. I KNOW IT DUMPED A LOT OF RAIN, BUT WHAT IF THIS WAS A MAJOR HURRICANE? WOULD WE HAVE BEEN PREPARED FOR THAT? YEAH. SO AGAIN IT GETS DOWN TO THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT FALLS AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT FALLS IN THAT IN THAT STRETCH. AND AGAIN, THE SYSTEM THE SYSTEM IS OLD AND FRAGILE AND IT'S GOOD TO HAVE 70MW OF POWER TURBINE FOR RAN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE EVENT. RAN WELL. TURBINE FIVE CARRIED LOAD AND DID VERY WELL. TURBINE SIX DID WELL. WE HAD MULTIPLE FREQUENCY CHANGERS. THE PRIMARY CHALLENGE WE HAD AFTER, AGAIN THE RAIN HAD FALLEN. BUT THEN AGAIN, IT'S AN ISSUE AS THE FIVE EMD. SO YOU'VE GOT MORE THAN TEN DIFFERENT SOURCES OF P POWER RANGING IN AGE FROM 1908 TO 2008, AND THAT'S WHERE THIS THIS POWER COMPLEX PROJECT THAT WILL BE COMPLETED JUNE OF NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BRING IT'S GOING TO CONSOLIDATE ALL OF THAT. IT'S GOING TO RELEGATE THOSE TURBINES AND THE EMDS TO A BACKUP TO A BACKUP, AND IT'S GOING TO PROVIDE US WITH A SINGLE SOURCE OF POWER THAT IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT, UP TO UP TO DATE, AND IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE RESILIENT. THAT'S ACTUALLY OUR NEXT QUESTION, MR. NELSON. LOOK, YOU'VE BEEN AROUND A WHILE. YOU'RE YOU'RE VERY INTELLIGENT. WHEN IT COMES S TO THESE KIND OF ISSUES. SO IS MR. CORBEN AS WELL. AND WE APPRECIATE HIM TAKING QUESTIONS, ALBEIT TODAY AS WELL. BUT HE SAID THE SAME THING. THE NEW FACILITY THAT WILL BE BUILT IN JUNE OF NEXT YEAR IS THAT ESSENTIALLY THE MAGIC WAND HERE? IS THAT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN? RIGHT. THE PANACEA IS THAT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR YOUR AGENCY, AGENCY TO STOP HAVING WHAT SEEMS TO BE REPEATED ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO THE CITY LOSING POWER AND THEN THEIR PUMP ISSUES ACROSS NEW ORLEANS? YEAH, THE POWER, THE POWER ISSUE IS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, THE POWER ISSUE AND LIKE I JUST EXPLAINED, HAVING TEN DIFFERENT SOURCES OF POWER RANGING IN AGE FROM 1908 UP TO 2008, AND MANY OF THOSE SOURCES OF POWER, NOT JUST TURBINE FOR FROM OH EIGHT TURBINE FIVE, WHICH IS OUR PRIMARY WORKHORSE ON THE 25 HZ SYSTEM, IS FROM 1952. EVEN IF ALL OF THOSE WERE NEWER AND MORE RELIABLE, YOU'VE STILL GOT TEN DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL SOURCES, AND SWITCHING FROM ONE SOURCE TO ANOTHER TAKES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME. IT CAN TAKE 15, 20, 30 MINUTES BEBECAUSE IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE ASA SHIFT OF A LEVER OR PUSH OF A BUTTON. YOU HAVE TO YOU PHYSICALLY HAVE TO PULL PUMPS OFF OF A CERTAIN POWER SOURCE, OPEN WHAT WE CALL BUSSES. SO YOU'RE CHANGING ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AROUND, ROUTING THE POWER BACK IN AND TURNING THINGS ON. SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT HAVING A NEWER SYSTEM THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL, BUT HAVING A SINGLE CONSOLIDATED SOURCE OF POWER IS GOING TO MAKE THINGS MUCH EASIER. NOW, THE WORD PANACEA IS IT'S IT'S A BIT OF A MISNOMER. SO AGAIN, NEXT YEAR WE HAVE A RAIN EVENT IN JULY. YOU KNOW, GOD FORBID, SOMETHING ELSE WITH A NAME AND IT DUMPS THREE, FOUR, FIVE INCHES IN AN HOUR. THERE IS NO SYSTEM ON EARTH, NO MATTER HOW NEW OR RESILIENT THAT'S GOING TO HELP IT. SO WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE AT THE MERCY OF THE WEATHER TO SOME DEGREE. BUT IT'S GOING TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES OF COMPLICATION AND AGE THAT HAVE HAVE PLAGUED US FOR A LONG TIME. I KNOW THAT YOU ARE AN ENGINEER BY TRADE. I KNOW THAT YOU WERE GIVING US ALL OF THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION THE WAY YOU JUST LAID IT OUT. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT TO BE DOING SWITCHING POWER, THIS AND THAT AND THE RANGE O OF TEN DIFFERENT POWER SOURCES. BUT I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU. THAT IS MORE ABOUT HEARTS AND MINDS, BECAUSE WE HAVE TALKED TO VIEWER AFTER VIEWER, THEY ARE STORM WEARY, THEY ARE TIRED OF FEELING LIKE THEY CANNOT RELY ON THE CITY'S PUBLIC UTILITY. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO RATEPAYERS CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE VERY LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD? YEAH, NO, I UNDERSTAND AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AND CERTAINLY AFTER AN EVENT LIKE THIS AND WE HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF EVENTS THIS Y YEAR, THIS THIS PROJECT S ONE THAT HAS BEEN IN THE OFFING FOR A LONG TIME. IT IS IT IS JUST ABOUT HERE. IN FACT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, TWO OUT OF THE THREE PRIMARY YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION ARE ALREADY PAST US. WE'RE DOWN TO LESS THAN A YEAR TO HAVE IT DONE. IT IS GOING TO MAKE THINGS MUCH, MUCH SIMPLER AND PROVIDE A HIGH, A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF RESILIENCE AND MAKES THINGS MUCH EASIER FOR US, WHICH OUR GOAL IS THAT IS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE THAT ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE OUR GOAL AND THAT HAS TO HAS TO COME WITH CONSISTENCY. AND SO I APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THAT LACK OF CONFIDENCE. AND IT'S OUR GOAL. AND I THINK THIS PROJECT WITH THE POWER COMPLEX IS GOING TO TAKE US TO THAT PLACE. YEAH. LOOK, WE'LL WE'LL WRAP UP WITH YOU, MR. NELSON. JP MORRELL, THE COUNCILMAN JUST RELEASED A STATEMENT, SOME SOME HIGHLIGHTS, AND LOWLIGHTS OF WHAT HE FELT WAS FRANCINE REACTION. HE CITES SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD. HE SAYS THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT GAPS IN INFORMATION AND COMMS. WE AS CITIZENS ARE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE ACCURATE INFORMATION IN REAL TIME. WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO POINT THIS OUT. I HATE TO BELABOR THIS TALKING POINT, BUT WE ARE HERE 24 OVER SEVEN IN THESE STORMS, AND I DO FEEL LIKE I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS, BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T. BUT I DO THINK WHEN THERE IS STANDING WATER IN NUMEROUS SUBDIVISIONS, PEOPLE DO WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL IN A IN A TIMELY MANNER. SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU DID TELL US THAT IS SOMETHING YOU ALL HOPE TO ADDRESS. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. MESSAGE RECEIVED. AND WE WE DO EXIST HERE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. THAT REALLY IS IS THE ISSUE. SO I HEAR THAT CONCERN. I APPRECIATE YOU ALL TAKING THE TIME TO TO SPEAK WITH US AND PROVIDE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. MR. NELSON, ANSWERING QUESTIONS ESSENTIALLY, WHEN WE WERE ASKING LAST NIGHT, THE RESPONSE PRETTY MUCH WE GOT WAS WE BUSY? WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO THAT. SO HOPEFULLY MOVING FORWARD WE WILL SEE THAT IMPROVED THAT IMPROVED COMMUNICATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. NELSON, FOR INDULGING US IN THESE QUESTIONS. YEAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. THANK YOU ALL RIGHT. THERE YOU GO. FROM THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD OBVIOUSLY. JUST TO RECAP WHAT THEY SAID. THEY HOPE TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNICATION. AND WHEN THAT NEW FACILITY IS BUILT NEXT JUNE IN 2025, THEY ARE HOPING LIKE YOU ALL ARE HOPING. AND LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS ARE HOPING THAT IT WILL LEAD TO A BETTER SITUATION WHEN POWER GETS KNOCKED OUT IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. LIKE GINA SAID, MAYBE THIS IS THE PANACEA