Here are the latest news stories in local and national water policy for September. Scroll to the bottom for a list of water events and opportunities to keep on your radar.
Hurricane season is kicking into high gear, so it’s a good time to focus on flood risks and taking steps to protect your home and business. NOLA READY has a number of resources to help and residents along the Gulf Coast can do things to reduce their risk, such as: purchasing flood insurance, installing green infrastructure, elevating utilities, adopting catch basins, and signing up for emergency alerts.
In The News
New Report: Renewing the Water Workforce
Brookings
A new report explores the workforce opportunity presented by the nation’s need for water infrastructure upgrades. Infrastructure jobs are especially attractive in the current economy, as they offer competitive wages, have lower educational barriers to entry, allow workers to develop transferable skills, and as the baby boom generation retires, could allow for long-term careers. This report by Brookings provides “a benchmark of the nation’s 1.7 million water workers and lays out a set of actionable strategies–a new water workforce playbook–that local, state, and national leaders should use in future hiring, training, and retention efforts. In the process, the report emphasizes that modernizing the country’s water systems and approaches to workforce development offers scalable lessons for other infrastructure sectors.”
In Local News: Sewerage and Water Board’s Tumultuous Year Since August 2017 Flooding
Times-Picayune, The Advocate, The Lens
The Sewerage and Water Board has undergone many changes since the flooding that impacted New Orleans last August. The events have highlighted needs for improvements to our drainage and power systems, and administrative issues within the agency. In the past year, the agency has invested more than $82 million in emergency repairs, put in place new leadership, and the city has a new mayor, who has promised to ensure the system’s needs are addressed.However, as we welcome the new director of the SWBNO, Ghassan Korban, questions remain on how the agency can restore trust in its system and reduce future flood risk. Mayor Cantrell and Director Korban have inherited many issues with the SWBNO, including a class-action lawsuit from the August 5 flood, financial challenges and questions surrounding salary increases for officials, water shutoffs and billing problems, and high turnover in SWBNO leadership. The City of New Orleans deserves a world-class Sewerage and Water Board — we look forward to seeing what changes are implemented in this direction in the months to come.
Governor Announces CPRA New Director and Deputy Director, Multi-Agency Campaign to Improve Coastal Resilience
Times-Picayune, Office of the Governor
Governor John Bel Edwards announced the appointment of Michael Ellison as Executive Director of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Mr. Ellison comes to the position from North Carolina, where he served as Principal Consultant for Arrowwood Research, Inc. He previously served as Director, Division of Mitigation Services, and State Natural Resources Trustee (NRDA), North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Bren Haase has become CPRA’s Deputy Executive Director. Mr. Haase had previously served as Division Chief of Planning and Research CPRA managing the research, planning and development of Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, in addition to the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Program, the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Program, and the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program.
Governor Edwards also announced the Interagency Coastal Storm Surge-Based Flood Risk and Resilience Awareness Campaign, a partnership between state agencies to use “Story Maps” to help residents understand Louisiana’s Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan. CPRA, as developer and implementer of the state Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan, along with the Louisiana state departments of Education (LDOE), Health (LDH), and Transportation and Development (DOTD) have collaborated on the Interagency Coastal Storm Surge-Based Flood Risk and Resilience Awareness Campaign, using Story Maps to foster greater interagency coordination and public awareness of Louisiana’s future coastal challenges and to reduce risk and improve resilience. Check out the Story Maps below:
ICYMI: Council Takes Step Toward Changing SWBNO Composition
New Orleans City Council
The New Orleans City Council passed an ordinance calling an election on December 8, 2018, in which residents can vote on a proposal to amend the City’s Home Rule Charter to change the composition of the Sewerage and Water Board to remove a citizen member. The ballot will ask voters to answer the following question in regards to SWBNO’s makeup:
“Shall section 5-301 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans be amended to change the composition of the membership of the Sewerage and Water Board to remove one citizen member and include the Chair of the Public Works, Sanitation, and Environment Committee of the New Orleans City Council or its successor committee, a member of the committee appointed by the chair, or a civil engineer appointed by the chair?”
More Water Headlines
- Louisiana is Disappearing under Water: Can Oysters Save It?
- Now is the time for long-term flood insurance fix | Editorial
- In the Arena: Going beyond the pumps for flood control
- A look back at New Orleans’ 300-year-long drainage drama
- What’s changed in Louisiana’s housing codes since 2016’s epic flooding? Not much
- How other flood-prone cities warn residents of dangerous road conditions: report
- How New Orleanians deal with the threat of flooding
- Oft-criticized, Restore Louisiana program discovers thousands eligible for flood relief didn’t apply
- Installation of water filters to screen lead will begin this week, Orleans school district
- State to drill new wells to combat saltwater leaching toward Baton Rouge drinking supply
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers endorses plan to deepen lower Mississippi River for larger ships
- Denham Springs residents share their flood stories in traveling Smithsonian exhibit
- Report Released: Gulf Research Program 2017 Report
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- Station 15, a film in which high school student Chasity Hunter investigates the constant flooding in New Orleans. This documentary by Kira Akerman, with support from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Walton Family Foundation, is streaming online now. Watch here.
- DIY Urban Water Management – September 15, 10:30 AM – Noon; workshop by All You Need Institute on urban water management. Learn about simple DIY solutions to prevent flooding on your property, including French drains, rain gardens, and barrels/cisterns, including the benefits of rain water and how it can be integrated into garden irrigation. Cost $20. Attend here.
- Artist Talk with Monique Verdin – September 20, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM; Monique Verdin will discuss her artistic practice as it relates to displacement, EMPIRE, and the 300th anniversary of New Orleans and its colonial founding. In Freeman Auditorium at Tulane, free and open to the public. Attend here.
- Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board Meeting – September 19 at 9:30 AM; CPRA is hosting its monthly Board Meeting in Baton Rouge. Attend here.
- Rise Coastal Community Resilience Challenge – Deadline September 30. This Challenge seeks innovative products, approaches, and workforce development programs from anywhere in the world that address any of five resilience topics and can be demonstrated in the Hampton Roads region of Southeastern Virginia, can be built into economically viable businesses, and are scalable to other communities. Apply here.
- WEFTEC Conference – September 29-October 3, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm daily; Water Environment Federation (WEF) is hosting its Technical Exhibition and Conference at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. Registration costs $165 – $950. (The exhibition is free for members.) Register here.
- Water for People Big Easy Bash – October 1, 5:30 – 8:30 PM; Kick off WEFTEC18 with a fun night of music, food and drinks in honor of Water For People, which envisions a world where every person has access to reliable and safe drinking water and sanitation. Featuring The Original Pinettes Brass Band (the world’s only all-female brass band), Cost $40. Attend here.
WaterMark is a monthly briefing on water programs and policies in Louisiana, brought to you by Propeller and Water Works.
