NEW ORLEANS — During Hurricane Francine, Sue Spilsbury's Lake Vista home was flooded.
"Water was flooding from the front door here to the crane street door, it was going straight through my living room. I had original Higgins oak block flooring, it looks like cornflakes," Spilsbury says.
Last week's flooding though isn't a unique occurrence for Spilsbury. She says anytime there's some serious rain in the city, she anticipates flooding. The water in the neighborhood isn't supposed to pool – it's supposed to flow out and onto Allen Toussaint Boulevard.
"There’s catch basins waiting but I don’t think they ever fill up because it’s in my yard," Spilsbury said.
The land in the area is sinking and what Spilsbury believes to be poor infrastructure, is causing part of the sidewalk on Marigold Lane to buckle. Spilsbury says there are electrical conduits that aren't buried as deep as they should be. She says it's only about seven inches, but the information she received from the Lakefront Management Authority shows it's supposed to be about 30 inches deep. Spilsbury says once the water starts to pool – it can't get over the hump of the buckled sidewalk.
"When the water gets to that it backs up and floods everybody up to the slab it floods my house – in my house it’s like Lake Marigold," Spilsbury said.
There's a back and forth though on who is responsible for fixing it. The lane is owned by the Orleans Levee District and falls under the jurisdiction of the Lakefront Management Authority. The Lakefront Management Authority says Entergy and the city are in charge of fixing the sidewalk.
Wednesday, Councilmember Eugene Green went out to check on the area with Entergy Crews. According to Green, Entergy will do a probe to determine if the wiring was buried deep enough. Green worries though, that there are other contributing factors to the flooding, but according to Spilsbury, the flooding only started when Entergy first completed the wiring.
Green says any other issue on the lane would be under the jurisdiction of the Lakeview Management Authority. Louis Capo, the Executive Director of the Lakefront Management Authority says repairs are the responsibility of the homeowners.
Spilsbury is frustrated though and believes that's way out of the scope of residents' responsibilities.
"I think it is not the homeowners' duty to band together and start digging up the sidewalk and bury the infrastructure correctly it’s not our duty," Spilsbury says.
Entergy issued this statement to WWL Louisiana.
“Entergy New Orleans is actively working with the customers impacted in this area, and investigating both the root cause and potential solutions. We appreciate the residents bringing the issue to our attention, and we look forward to resolving the matter in the near term.”
