S&WB: Draining New Orleans is critical, top priority

IT UP FOR JUST A MOMENT. GHASSAN KORBAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SEWERAGE AND WATER BOARD, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, SIR. WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A POWER ISSUE OVERNIGHT, SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD JUST MAYBE EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THAT, YOU KNOW, MAY HAVE CAUSED A LITTLE BIT OF AN ISSUE FOR YOUR SYSTEM. ABSOLUTELY. GOOD MORNING. I'M ON THE PHONE JUST FOR THE RECORD. YEAH, I MEAN TO SAY WE HAD A POWER ISSUE PROBABLY IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT IN A WAY, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE WE HAVE MULTIPLE SITUATIONS THROUGHOUT THE EVENT. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT SURPRISING WHEN YOU HAVE A MECHANICAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM THAT RELIES ON HUNDREDS OF PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, WHETHER IT'S ELECTRICAL OR MECHANICAL OR EVEN FEEDERS. SO INVARIABLY YOU HAVE A SITUATION THAT WE ARE TYPICALLY PREPARED TO RESPOND TO. SO SO WE HAD A SERIES OF SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE WE LOST POWER FROM ENTERGY TO SOME OF THE STATION, AT LEAST ONE STATION THAT'S THE PUMPING STATION 14IN NEW ORLEANS EAST AND WE THEN WE WENT, WE SWITCHED THE POWER TO OR THE SOURCE OF POWER TO OUR BACKUP GENERATOR. AND WE RESUMED PUMPING IN THAT AREA. ANOTHER MAJOR ONE IS THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE WE HAVE FIVE EMDS. THESE ARE BASICALLY LARGE DIESEL GENERATORS THAT WERE POWERING MULTIPLE PUMPS IN THREE DIFFERENT STATIONS. AND WE HAD AN ISSUE WITH THOSE EMDS. IT WASN'T THE EMDS THAT FAILED PER SE, BUT IT WAS A ONE COMMON AUXILIARY PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT THAT SUPPORTS THOSE FIVE EMDS THAT WENT DOWN AND THAT THAT CAUSED SOME SETBACK BASICALLY IN OUR ABILITY TO KEEP UP WITH WITH THE RAINFALL, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SHOULDN'T BE LOST ON ANYBODY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD ABOUT SEVEN INCHES OF RAIN LAST NIGHT AND THE INTENSITY OF RAIN VARIED, BUT IT WENT AS HIGH AS 2.5IN TO THREE INCHES AN HOUR, WHICH WE SAY THAT ALL THE TIME THAT OVERWHELMS ANY SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY OUR SYSTEM THAT CAN HANDLE TYPICALLY AN INCH AN HOUR. SO NOW, AS THE STORM HAS PASSED AND IT'S IT'S OVER US NOW, IT'S GONE. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST FOCUS RIGHT NOW FOR YOU AND SEWERAGE AND WATER BOARD? WELL, YOU KNOW, THE BIG PICTURE OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE TO STAY ON TRACK WITH OUR POWER COMPLEX BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE HAD LOTS OF POWER YESTERDAY, THEY'RE ALL ANTIQUATED PIECES OF EQUIPMENT. THEY'RE ALL COBBLED TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH THE NECESSARY POWER THAT WE NEED TO DRIVE ALL THE PUMPS THAT WE NEED. YOU KNOW, IN, IN COMPARISON TO THE FUTURE, WHICH IS 20, 25, THEN YOU END UP HAVING ONE SOURCE OF POWER THAT WILL DRIVE EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEED. YOU KNOW, AT ANY GIVEN TIME. SO THAT IS GOING TO SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY OUR WORLD WITH A DURABLE, RELIABLE SOURCE OF POWER FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS. SO THAT'S THAT'S DOWN ANOTHER YEAR. AND THEN IN THE MEANTIME OBVIOUSLY WE CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR PROCESSES AND YESTERDAY WE WERE THE FIRST DAY THAT WE USED OUR T4 THAT HAD BEEN DOWN FOR A LONG TIME, AS YOU MAY KNOW, AND IT HAD BEEN RESTORED. AND IT PROVED YOU KNOW, IT WAS VERY IT FUNCTIONED VERY WELL. AND NOW IT GIVES US A LITTLE BIT HIGHER CONFIDENCE TO RELY ON IT MORE FOR THE NEXT EVENT VERSUS THE EMDS THAT, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN PRONE TO BREAKDOWNS DURING DURING SITUATIONS LIKE LAST NIGHT. MR. CORBEN, I KNOW THAT YOU INHERITED THIS VERY MUCH OF AN ANTIQUATED SYSTEM. SOME OF THESE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT ARE MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD. YEAH, I KNOW THAT. THERE'S ALSO BEEN MANY EFFORTS TO TRY AND REFORM THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD AND KIND OF COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF GAME PLAN, BUT FOR FOLKS I KNOW, YOU KNOW, 2025 IS A WHOLE YEAR AWAY. AND WE SPOKE WITH MANY FOLKS THIS MORNING WHO ARE VERY UPSET WITH THAT WATER INSIDE THEIR HOME. SO IS THERE ANY KIND OF LIGHT AT THE TUNNEL OR ANY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, RELIEF THAT WE CAN GIVE THEM IN THE MEANTIME TO ENSURE THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN, BECAUSE, LIKE YOU SAID, RIGHT NOW, IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE A PATCHWORK QUILT OF PIECES AT THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD OFFICE, BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE SOME OF THE YOU KNOW, MAJOR PIECES THAT YOU NEED AT THIS TIME. AND AGAIN, THAT ALL COMES DOWN TO FUNDING TO WE'VE ALL BEEN FIGHTING FOR FUNDING. ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, AGAIN, THE LIGHT IS AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL THAT MEANS 2025. AND THAT SEEMS FAR AWAY FOR MANY PEOPLE. BUT WHEN YOU PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE CHANGING HOW THIS THIS SYSTEM WORKS. AND HAS WORKED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. NOT VERY EFFECTIVELY. YOU KNOW, WITHIN A YEAR AWAY FROM, FROM GETTING A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SETUP THAT IS MORE DURABLE, MORE RELIABLE AND AND FUNCTIONAL. SO, I MEAN, THAT SHOULD NOT BE LOST ON PEOPLE IN THE MEANTIME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TWEAK WHAT WE DO AND REFINE IT. BUT CAPACITY IS IS IS AT WHAT IT IS. I MEAN, WE HAVE SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF PUMPS WE USE EVERY PUMP THAT WE NEEDED YESTERDAY. SO IT WAS NOT A MATTER OF PUMPING CAPACITY. ASIDE FROM THAT SITUATION, I JUST SHARED ABOUT THE POWER ITSELF, WHICH HOPEFULLY WILL GO AWAY ONCE WE SWITCH TO THE SUBSTATION IN 25. YOU KNOW, THE PUMP, THE PUMPING CAPACITY IS IS, YOU KNOW, IN A GOOD IN A GOOD PLACE. THE PUMPS ARE FUNCTIONAL AND WE STAND TO BRING ANOTHER FIVE PUMPS ON, YOU KNOW, IN A MATTER OF, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS OR SO. SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO INCREASE CAPACITY. WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING OVER THE MINOR SYSTEM DRAINAGE SYSTEM FROM THE CITY. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MORE ROBUST CATCH BASIN CLEANING, YOU KNOW, FROM DAY ONE IN JANUARY IS WHEN WE TAKE OVER. WE'RE PREPARING A CONTRACT TO START, YOU KNOW, AS EARLY AS JANUARY WITH WITH CLEANING CATCH BASINS, WHICH WE THINK IS IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF THE WHOLE DRAINAGE SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, IF THE WATER ISN'T, ISN'T ALLOWED TO GO IN FREELY, WE CAN'T PUMP IT. AND BUT YESTERDAY, YOU KNOW, OVERALL THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF WATER STANDING IN, IN STREETS WAS THE INTENSITY OF THE RAIN AND THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT FELL. I WANT TO ASK YOU THIS EARLIER, THIS MORNING, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU SAW THIS, BUT ONE OF OUR REPORTERS, DEJA BROWN, SPOKE TO A WOMAN IN LAKEVIEW, AND SHE WAS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HER HOME WAS FLOODED. AND SHE SAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, AS A NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT, WE DESERVE BETTER. WE NEED BETTER. YOU HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS ALL ACROSS NEW ORLEANS THAT ARE FRUSTRATED WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE LIKE AN ANTIQUATED SYSTEM, RANDI, BUT JUST FOLKS ARE JUST DOWNRIGHT TIRED AND JUST WANT A BETTER SYSTEM TO PREVENT THINGS LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING. WHAT'S YOUR MESSAGE OUT THERE TO TO FOLKS WHO ARE FRUSTRATED AT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW? WELL, I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S NOT LOST ON US. WE'RE VERY MINDFUL OF THE, THE THE FRUSTRATION THAT EXISTS. AND I WOULD BE FRUSTRATED, TOO, IF MY HOUSE FLOODED. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE MAKE THIS AS A TOP PRIORITY FOR US. YOU KNOW, DRAINING THE CITY IS A TOP PRIORITY. IT'S VERY CRITICAL MISSION OF OURS. AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN WORKING SO HARD AND, YOU KNOW, NOTHING HAPPENS OVERNIGHT. NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT STEADY FUNDING. THAT'S WHY WE EMBARKED ON ONE OF THE LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN THE CITY, MEANING THE THE POWER, YOU KNOW, THE POWER COMPLEX, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING MAYBE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE 20 YEARS AGO. AND IT WASN'T. AND NOW, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A YEAR AWAY FROM TOTAL COMPLETION AND A GAME CHANGER IN TERMS OF HOW WE MANAGE OUR OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND HOW WE POWER IT. SO I MEAN, THAT CANNOT BE LOST ON PEOPLE. I MEAN, THIS IS A MAJOR, MAJOR UNDERTAKING WITH WITH A VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN HOW WE OPERATE AND HOW WE MANAGE OUR OUR WATER. BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO BE REALISTIC AND SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, THE INTENSITY OF THE RAIN AT TIMES WILL OVERWHELM ANY SYSTEM ANYWHERE. I MEAN, I LIVED IN OTHER CITIES AND OTHER CITIES FLOOD WHEN WHEN YOU WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER 3 OR 4IN OF RAIN IN AN HOUR, THERE'S NO SYSTEM THAT'S DESIGNED TO MANAGE THAT AMOUNT OF RAIN. AND THEN THAT'S WHY YOU WOULD YOU WOULD EXPERIENCE WATER IN THE STREETS. AND OBVIOUSLY NOBODY WANTS TO SEE ANYTHING BEYOND THAT. BUT THEN IF YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE AN EVENT LIKE YESTERDAY, UNFORTUNATELY SOME AREAS ARE MORE PRONE THAN OTHERS. AND I MEAN, I DON'T HAVE A VERY GOOD ANSWER TO OUR RESIDENTS WHO ARE FRUSTRATED WITH US. AND YOU MENTIONED THAT THE EMDS WENT OFFLINE. COULD YOU GIVE US A TIME FRAME AS TO HOW LONG THE PUMPS MAY HAVE BEEN OUT IN THAT GIVEN TIME FRAME? I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS AND WE WILL WE WILL PUT THAT IN AN AFTER ACTION REPORT AND YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE ROUTINELY DO. AND WE MAKE IT PUBLIC. WE SUBMIT IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, TO STATE LEGISLATORS AND MANY OTHER POLICYMAKERS. SO THAT THAT WILL BE OUT SHORTLY. I MEAN, WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT IT HAMPERED OUR ABILITY TO DRAIN THE WATER, YOU KNOW, AS IT WASN'T AS QUICK AS WE WANTED IT TO BE. SO THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE WAS IN TERMS OF NOT HAVING POWER TO SOME OF THOSE PUMPS. WE DON'T BELIEVE IT CAUSED ANY, YOU KNOW, BACKUP OR A RISE IN ELEVATION. BUT IT TOOK US A LITTLE LONGER TIME TO DRAIN THAT, THAT, THAT WATER. KHERSON CORBEN. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. AND AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE MAYBE EVEN HEARING THAT AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT MIGHT BE OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. YOU HEARD HIM RIGHT THERE. HE ASKED HIM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET INFORMATION AND HELP OUT THE FOLKS THERE. I MEAN, THEY HAVE A LOT GOING ON FOR SURE. WE'VE GOT MUCH MORE OF THE AFTERMATH OF FRANCINE COMING UP RIGHT AFTER THE BREAK. WE'LL TAKE YOU TO JEFFERSON PARISH, ALSO THE BAYOU REGION TO GET AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE.