SEWERAGE

The unusual New Orleans topography, which made area drainage so serious a problem, also made a similar plan necessary for sewage disposal. The sanitary sewer system of the city is a gravity collection system, consisting of 1,450 miles of lateral and trunk sewers, ranging in size from 8 inches to 7 feet in diameter. Lifting and conveying the sewage by trunk sewers and sewer force mains requires 82 electrically operated pumping and lift stations; 79 of these stations are automatically operated with no attendance other than periodic maintenance visits.

Sewer stations "A" and "D" on the East Bank and Station "C" on the West Bank are large, attended stations. These, as well as all automatic stations, transfer the total collected sewage from the entire city to the treatment plants.

SEWAGE TREATMENT

Recognizing the need, as well as the national effort being made to reduce the pollution of our country's waterways, the Sewerage and Water Board has proceeded with a phased program for the treatment of all municipal sewage, both on the east and west banks of the Mississippi River.

In 1962, the Sewerage and Water Board reactivated and assumed the operation of a United States government-owned activated sludge plant to provide sewage treatment for the Michoud residential and industrial area east of the Industrial Canal. In 1965, the capacity of this plant was increased from one million gallons per day to 2.5 million gallons per day.

New ambient water quality standards led to the conversion of the Michoud plant to tertiary treatment. Closure of the facility was deemed to be more cost effective and the flows to the Michoud plant were re-routed to the East Bank Sewage Treatment Plant in 1992.