Mississippi
Raw sewage to continue flowing to Mississippi River for fourth week
New Orleans entered its fourth week of sending untreated sewage into the Mississippi River on Saturday as the Sewerage & Water Board struggles to fix a 60-year-old underground pipe in the St. Roch area.
The agency had expected to complete the job this week but said Friday that workers found an additional leak at the bottom of the force main, at the pumping station at 2800 Florida Ave. They’ll keep digging to repair it.
“Due to the age of the pipe, we knew there was a possibility that additional leaks could be discovered during the repair process,” Executive Director Ghassan Korban said. “We are working expeditiously to repair the sewer force main and will update the community as soon as we have a revised timeline for completion.”
Since July 7, the agency has been diverting raw sewage to the river, to prevent backups in homes and businesses.
A closeup view of the hole in a sewer force main in the St. Roch neighborhood.