Down the Drain | wwltv.com

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Down the Drain

Down the Drain is a WWL-TV investigative project that explores what went wrong and where the blame lies for New Orleans' drainage crisis. How could a city built below sea level allow its drainage system to deteriorate to this condition? Eyewitness News assembled a team of veteran reporters, researchers, experts and insiders to launch an investigation, unprecedented in its size and scope, into the Sewerage and Water Board, and the city's handling of its drainage system. We found that hundreds of millions of dollars meant for the drainage system, along with public confidence in City Hall has gone down the drain.

S&WB plans to inspect all drainage canals over next 5 years

S&WB plans to inspect all drainage canals over next 5 years

S&WB plans to inspect all drainage canals over next 5 years

“This is a massive undertaking and a critical step in working to learn everything we don’t know about our infrastructure,” said executive director Ghassan Korban.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

Featured Videos

The Catch-22 that is New Orleans' drainage problem

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S&WB: Uptown SELA culverts did not make nearby flooding worse

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

Break of 111-year-old water main causes low water pressure, boil advisory

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S&WB says they've cleared 2% of Lafitte canal

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Only 2 percent of debris removed from Lafitte Canal so far

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Down the Drain: Pain, but progress at the New Orleans S&WB

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Garbage went into the system, but very little came out

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Down the Drain: 3 vacuum trucks vs 72,000 catch basins

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'Is this the new normal? Is this how we live?

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City of New Orleans again looking for drainage fee to improve S&WB infrastructure

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New Orleans city officials address ongoing flooding issues

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How has flooding changed in New Orleans?

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S&WB chief gets glowing evaluation, $30,000 pay raise

S&WB chief gets glowing evaluation, $30,000 pay raise

Ghassan Korban, who was hired in the summer of 2018, was given an 'exceeds expectations' rating by the full board and an 8.8 percent pay hike to his $265,000 salary.

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New Orleans nearly had to pump raw sewage into Mississippi River

New Orleans nearly had to pump raw sewage into Mississippi River

The S&WB made preparations "...to pump untreated sewage directly to the Mississippi River to prevent raw sewage overflows onto the street of the city."

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15,000 catch basins cleaned. Now what?

15,000 catch basins cleaned. Now what?

There are more than 65,000 catch basins throughout New Orleans, and without additional funding, a full sweep could take decades.

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Water main breaks, boil advisories will continue to happen, says councilman

Water main breaks, boil advisories will continue to happen, says councilman

It's like going around in circles. You can't spend money you don't have, but it's going to take money to fix the issues.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

What we learned underground: New Orleans' biggest drainage problem may be on the surface

What we learned underground: New Orleans' biggest drainage problem may be on the surface

What we saw underground only scratches the surface of New Orleans' drainage problem

ORLEANS

A journey into New Orleans' underground drainage system

A journey into New Orleans' underground drainage system

What we saw underground was not what we were expecting.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

S&WB: Uptown SELA culverts did not make nearby flooding worse

S&WB: Uptown SELA culverts did not make nearby flooding worse

A study commissioned after July 10 rains also found the culverts could not have made flooding worse in other parts of the city.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

Boil water advisory lifted for New Orleans

Boil water advisory lifted for New Orleans

The boil water advisory was canceled just before noon Tuesday

HEALTH

S&WB director launches investigation into apparently racist photo taken in agency’s machine shop

S&WB director launches investigation into apparently racist photo taken in agency’s machine shop

The image shows bananas in a cage, reportedly left by white workers for black workers.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

New Orleans has 3 working vacuum trucks to clean 72,000 catch basins

New Orleans has 3 working vacuum trucks to clean 72,000 catch basins

Of the city’s eight trucks, three are obsolete and being sold for scrap and two are in the shop, leaving only three for the entire city.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

Only 2% of debris removed from Lafitte canal so far

Only 2% of debris removed from Lafitte canal so far

By the S&WB’s estimates, about 22,000 tons of debris remains in the nearly three-mile length of the canal.

DOWN-THE-DRAIN

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