JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — In parts of Jefferson Parish, the consequences of the nearly yearlong drought are increasingly apparent.
Councilman for District 2, Deano Bonano, said he's noticed it at his own home in West Metairie.
“I mean that’s the nature of the beast in southeast Louisiana," Bonano said, "It’s no secret most of this was a cypress swamp at one time.”
The land in Metairie and other parts of our region is similar to a sponge. During the drought last year, it shrunk like a dry sponge. Now that we are out of the drought, it's expanding again.
Bonano said what's more concerning is what's below ground—breaking pipes.
"Yes, droughts lead to soil erosion which allows the pipe to shift which can cause the sewer pipes to crack in weak areas due to the hydrogen sulfide in the collection system. Also, during a drought we tend to see a lot of tree roots intruding on the sewer gravity lines because they’re looking for a water source, causing many point repairs throughout the Parish," Jefferson Parish Sewerage Director Hubert Franklin said.
Bonano said he's received calls about countless broken water lines, and the repairs cost the parish time and money.
“Sewer lines have certainly been impacted too, and that takes some time for those breaks to be filled with mud, and then you notice hey I can’t flush my toilets anymore," Bonano said, "We’re so far behind, there’s so many of them. It’s taking us two to three weeks to get to them. We have to prioritize the biggest lines first.”
As Bonano points out, last month's water main break that knocked out water to the entire East Bank of Jefferson Parish was already at the top of the parish's to-do list.
That's why at this month's parish council meeting, Bonano urged Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng to prioritize another ticking time bomb – a broken sewerage line.
In 2021, a 72-inch sewer line broke on West Napoleon and hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw sewage was diverted into the canal. The same line turns and goes down Transcontinental Drive to the plant, Bonano said.
“I’m very fearful that that same process is occurring on Transcontinental and the next time it breaks, there’s not a canal next to it. All that sewer water is going to run in somebody’s house," Bonano said.
The pipe is roughly 40-45 years old and was manufactured to carry water, not sewage, Bonano said.
“Sewage is very acidic and caustic, and it will eat through," Bonano said, "And that’s what occurred at that site on West Napoleon.”
Bonano said he's working on solutions for the sewer line with the Sewerage Department, and he hopes to begin the project this year.
The parish confirmed plans are in the works but said it's a lengthy process.
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