NEW ORLEANS – A major water leak in the French Quarter has residents demanding action from the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans.
Homeowners along St. Ann Street are fed up with water gushing from a street crack causing pooling along their road.
Tristan Harrell reached out to WGNO News to let us know how fast the leak grew and what happened since calling the Sewerage & Water Board.
“Someone on the Sewerage and Water Board hotline confirmed this has been reported for at least two days,” Harrel said.
Since reporting the issue, he has not seen any crews survey the leak or block off the road.
“It sort of demonstrates the Sewerage & Water Board waits for things to get to the worst possible level before actually intervening,” said Harrell.
Residents along St. Ann are concerned about the infrastructure. They say if they Sewerage & Water Board does not fix the leak soon, there will be bigger problems.
Catherine Meudt said, “It seems to be further widening the roadway and I’m afraid someone is going to end up falling in it as they drive or God forbid a mule full of people on a carriage.”
Meudt made the initial emergency call to the Sewerage & Water Board. She’s not only worried about the road, but potential property damage.
“We have the historical integrity of these properties to consider too. The French Quarter was saved for a reason and we don’t want to see it go down because of the negligence of the water and sewerage board,” Meudt said.
The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans released the following statement:
We have records of a water leak called in two days ago at the address you mentioned. We categorize all water leaks and repairs by the risk they pose to the overall water system and impact to residents. For example, repairs needed to restore residents’ water or that are greatly impacting traffic are listed as Category A and responded to immediately. While we understand the inconvenience the leak on St. Ann may cause, because residents in the area still have water service, this repair is listed as a Category B.
On background: We address dozens of emergency repairs daily. When crews receive a call about a Category B repair, that means “Complete the current job you’re working then move to the identified Priority B job.”