The sewer rehabilitation project amounts to the most comprehensive single effort to recondition the city’s century-old sewer network. Sections of the New Orleans’ sewer network are still in need of repair following the wide spread destruction to the city caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Local sources reported that wing to the city’s decrease in population following the storm, there is no need to expand the sewer network.

The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board signed an original Consent Decree with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1998 which detailed sewer rehabilitation requirements in order to prevent sewer leakages.

The recently signed Modified Consent Decree, which the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans entered into with the US EPA, the US Department of Justice and other parties, extends the time for remedial action of the Board’s collection and treatment system until 31 July 2015.

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The Decree requires the Board to carry out additional actions including construction of a protective wall around the East Bank Sewage Treatment Plant, an improved electrical system, and the study of other remedial measures.

Executive Director of the Board Marcia St. Martin said “This Decree commits the Board to an extensive, expensive and complex program, but we believe that over the long term it will provide an important road map to protect the waters of our community for the benefit of our citizens.”

“These commitments come at a time of ongoing challenges the Board faces in rebuilding from the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina,” Ms St. Martin said.

Although the Board was relieved of the legal requirements of the original 1998 consent Decree because of Hurricane Katrina, it has continued work on the remedial program under the Decree. The preventative maintenance and overflow reaction program required by the Decree have been and will continue to be followed.