NEW ORLEANS — The area under the boil water advisory Uptown expanded multiple blocks after crews working to fix a burst pipe found a broken valve as well, officials say.
The areas under the boil water advisory originally included:
Properties along Calhoun and Palmer Avenue between South Claiborne Avenue and Story Street, including the dead-end blocks of South Johnson, South Prieur and Barret Street.
Properties between South Claiborne, Audubon Boulevard, Hickory and Lowerline streets.
It now also includes:
All properties between South Claiborne Avenue, Hickory Street, South Carrollton Avenue and both sides of Audubon Boulevard. See the interactive map of the area here
Sewerage and Water Board officials said crews working to fix a massive 100-year-old water main that ruptured near Tulane University Friday afternoon found a broken water valve on Audubon Street.
That forced them to close more valves to stop the flow of water to the break, they said, which dropped water pressure outside the original boil advisory area and required the zone be expanded.
"It is important to note that the boundaries are approximations. If you experience little or no water pressure and live near the impacted zone, please take extra precautions when using your water," a S&WB spokesperson said.
People in the affected area are advised to use bottled or boiled tap water to drink, cook, clean food or brush their teeth.
Residents in the roughly 30 blocks under a boil water advisory in Uptown were reportedly waking up Saturday morning to no running water in their homes and no notice ahead of the outage.
Residents like Sean Brite said his home on Cohn Street had been without water since 3 p.m. Friday, as S&WB crews attempted to fix a massive 100-year-old water main that ruptured near Tulane University's Yulman Stadium.
Brite said he has a 3-month-old child and will have to go somewhere else to care for them. His water was shut off Friday for repairs and he was told it would be restored, but woke up to find that wasn't the case. When he called the S&WB emergency line around 5 a.m., there was no information available about the issue, he said.
Water was still gushing out of the 30-inch pipe at the intersection of S. Johnson and Calhoun streets Saturday morning. Hope Darby said it had been 14 hours since there was any water in her neighborhood following the pipe burst.
"A boil water advisory notice does no good if there isn't water to boil or flush my toilet with. This is an unacceptable lack of communication of vital information to New Orleans residents," Darby said.
"I am so tired. I feel like the SWBNO is going to single-handedly be the entity that drives me out of this city. I understand that our infrastructure is old and emergencies like this will happen, but WHERE IS THE COMMUNICATION?" Darby said.
Elisabeth Geckler on Scyamore Street said she had no idea how long she'd be without water.
"I get it. This is a hard job, collapsing water infrastructure. But, please send me a notice or text, S&WB," Geckler tweeted.
All three residents emphasized that they understood the difficulties that came with working on the aging sewer system, but said they were upset about a lack of communication from the city.
S&WB officials said they were aware of the outages and were investigating the situation. They encouraged residents to call 52-WATER (504-529-2837) to report issues.
Joe Giarrusso, council representative for Uptown, said he was made aware of the lack of water and was communicating with the S&WB.
"The primary break was isolated late last night. SWBNO is still trying to determine extent of problem and when water will be restored. Should have more details later this morning," Giarrusso tweeted.
There have been at least five major water main breaks in the Uptown area this year, with the newest pipe recorded at 80-years-old.
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