NEW ORLEANS — Ahead of Friday’s street flooding threat, the Sewerage and Water Board said 93 of the city’s 99 major drainage pumps were operating normally.
Two of the six that are out are at the same station– called DPS 17. It is near Franklin Avenue and Florida Avenue. The two pumps are the only ones at the station.
WWL-TV asked the Sewerage and Water Board whether this could contribute to street flooding in nearby neighborhoods. An S&WB engineer said it is unlikely since DPS 17 is designed to handle “dry weather flow,” like water from leaky pipes and people washing their cars, rather than stormwater.
Stormwater from the area around DPS 17 is pumped by another station, DPS 19, at the end of Florida Avenue near the canal. An S&WB spokesperson explained that it is much more powerful:
“DPS No. 19 has a total pumping capacity of 3,920 [cubic feet per second], and all five pumps in this station are available for use. For reference, the stormwater pumping capacity of DPS No. 19 is thirteen times larger than the two drainage pumps at DPS 17.”
That is good news for residents of some streets near DPS 17. Many told us they deal with chronic flooding anyway.
Shirley Labeau, who has lived on Sage Street in Gentilly Terrace since 1971, said, “every time” there is heavy rain, “this is where we get it, in this neighborhood.”
Elizabeth Black said her household has what it calls “rainstorm protocol.” She picks up everything from the floor, lifts bigger items, and tucks cords away.
“The house has flooded 12 times in the 9 years that I’ve lived here, and none of them were hurricane-related,” she said.
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