NEW ORLEANS — Some Fairgrounds area residents say they want more from the Sewerage and Water Board after long persisting issues. Those issues have come to a head when residents spent two recent holidays trying to get answers from the city.
Omar Morales, a Trafalgar Street resident says he woke up on Christmas with dry faucets.
"When [my kids] woke up we have their normal routine – get them breakfast – and we didn’t have water," Morales said. "Obviously, you’re prepping you’re trying to do meals, you have family in town so you’ve got more people using resources. It would’ve been nice to have a bit of a warning."
The water was restored around noon. S&WB says it was an emergency water repair after a nearby hydrant was hit. But residents say it wasn't the first time they had issues. They say on Thanksgiving a crew was digging up their street.
"They had their excavator they, had a jackhammer because they had to dig up the entire road," Morales said. "We’re trying to do the turkey and stuff and we’re hearing all this noise."
S&WB says that too was an emergency repair. But before then, residents say they had a leak on their street that lasted about two years. One resident, who didn't want to go on camera, even says she's been dealing with similar incidents since she moved in about five years ago.
Residents say they want the issue to be fixed for good, or at least better communication.
"It would be great to have the system rebuilt in a way that’s modern and allows the citizens to feel like we’re getting the service we deserve," Morales said.
S&WB says they're working on getting the road repaired but those services are taking 80 days on average.