NEW ORLEANS — UPDATE: The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans canceled a boil advisory on Wednesday that was in effect for a large part of New Orleans East.
Most of New Orleans East is still under a boil water notice, after a major water main break in the Little Woods neighborhood on Tuesday Morning.
“We’ve been through it so many times,” Resident Thomas Sykes said. “This is not the first time this has happened.
New Orleans East resident Thomas Sykes says water gushing out of the streets and going without clean water is becoming the norm.
“My wife fills up a big gumbo pot with water, and everyone knows what to do. We make it work,” Sykes said.
On Tuesday, residents along Morrison Road woke up to Sewerage and Water Board crews repairing another water main break. Video shows workers neck deep in water, guiding machinery and trying to stop the leak.
According to Sewerage and Water Board officials, an equipment failure on Morrison Road and Benson Court caused pressure to drop, making the tap water unsafe to drink
“We should have to get used to power outages and boil water advisories,” New Orleans City Council Member and New Orleans East resident Oliver Thomas said.
It’s the East’s third boil water notice in three weeks, including the almost citywide boil water notice earlier this month. Resident and City Council Member Oliver Thomas says something needs to be done.
“How do we get to the point that the system is reliable and we aren’t having so many boil water notices?” Thomas said.
By Tuesday afternoon, the break was repaired and crews were testing the water. Sewerage and Water Board officials say they should know within 24 hours if the water is safe to drink.
After a lifetime in New Orleans, Sykes says he and his neighbors can make it through a boil water notice, as long as they have each other and a gumbo pot.
“This little stretch right here is a friendly little stretch and everyone was looking out for one another,” Sykes said.
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