SWBNO to Replace Valve at Magazine and Calliope Streets
For Immediate Release: Monday, December 16, 2019 11:54 AM
The Sewerage and Water Board will be replacing a faulty water valve at Magazine and Calliope streets on Tuesday, Dec. 17. To do this urgent work to improve our water and sewer systems, we may have to suspend water service to nearby properties.
We are preparing for the possibility that this project could impact water service to businesses and residents on Magazine Street between Julia and Calliope, and Poeyfarre Street between Magazine and Tchoupitoulas streets. We have been in communication with the Downtown Development District, condominium associations and local business to make them aware of the possible impacts.
We do not anticipate any impact on water service or water pressure outside of this area, but we will carefully monitor conditions. We encourage customers who lose water service during this valve repair to call us at 52-WATER (504.529.2837).
The work is planned to begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to take about 8-10 hours. To prepare the site, we will be closing at 6:30 a.m. the left traffic lane on Magazine between Calliope and Julia and the left, lakebound lane of Calliope at Magazine. We advise motorists to avoid the area if at all possible.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but this work is crucial to our efforts to immediately improve reliability of our water and sewer systems in this heavily populated commercial area.
The project is the first phase of a three-phase plan to make repairs to water and sewer lines in that area and to add a new sewer line to address the need for more sewer service due to heightened development in the Central Business District. The new valve will allow us to better control the flow of water in the 30-inch water main located there.
The second phase of this project will repair a leak in the 30-inch water main and repair the sewer line beneath it. We will schedule Phase 2, which will require a longer period of suspended water service, after a full assessment of the first phase’s impact on our customers.
The third phase will be the installation of a new 12-inch sewer line along Margaret Place. This work is currently under design.