NEW ORLEANS — Neighbors are frustrated that after a year, nothing is being done about the crumbling infrastructure in their Carrollton neighborhood, uptown.
Tonight they are speaking out about the Sewerage and Water Board's lack of action on problems they said are washing the street away in front of their homes.
In a Carrollton neighborhood, homeowners said they are tired of watching their street slowly get washed down the drain.
“And it just keeps getting worse. It's gotten a lot deeper now. We're going to be able to say we have waterfront property it's so deep. It's getting worse and worse,” said homeowner Anna Kardon.
“It's been a pretty ridiculous affair with the amount of water that's coming out of the street, and it's just eroding everything away,” said neighbor Elliott Wiener.
They said for a year now, they have been calling the Sewerage and Water Board about a leak, but nothing gets done.
“One night, probably three weeks ago, I went to start my dishes and there was just no water. You call sewerage and water board and of course, they say we've closed,” said homeowner Maureen Spencer.
To add to that, water bills along the block have skyrocketed. Ones that were in the $150 range, jumped as high as more than $1,700 for just one month.
“Sewerage and Water says it's not due to the leak because they're reading it from the meter, but I can't believe it's a coincidence that everyone's experiencing high water bills on this block,” said Wiener who got that high bill in October 2020.
They said it's an area where children used to play and ride bikes, now they are concerned about safety for many different reasons.
“I mean they're flying,” said Nicole Wiener, Elliott’s wife, about cars coming down her street.
“Yeah, cars come off Carrollton Avenue and just gun it down Jeannette, hit that big ditch and just spray water up into the lawn. You know they're bottoming out, eroding more of the roadway,” said Elliott Wiener.
“We’re concerned about the safety for people, especially at night. We have a lot of bikers through here near Tulane. You just can't see it, and it's a big hole,” said Kardon.
“I’m concerned that it's mosquito season, and we have mosquitoes breeding and nesting, and we're going to have mosquitoes all over the place because of the standing water,” said Spencer.
And they say the problem is much bigger than just their 8000 block of Jeannette Street. They said drive anywhere around the area and you'll see the same trouble. We found a leak just around the corner on Spruce and Short Streets.
“I’d like to have it fixed. Fix the leak. And I'm also concerned what is this costing taxpayers,” added Spencer who believes the leak is also causing low water pressure.
Statement from the Sewerage and Water Board:
The Sewerage and Water Board is aware of the issue in need of repair and is working to finalize a timeline. If at any point residents are without water while we facilitate the repair, we encourage them to call 52-WATER.
Courtney T. Barnes
Director of Communications
Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
