For Immediate Release: Friday, June 30, 2023 12:07 PM
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) has released its 2022 Consumer Confidence Report. This document, which all water utilities are required to publish annually, affirmed the safety and quality of New Orleans’ public water supply throughout 2022.
"Safe drinking water is fundamental to the health of New Orleans,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “The Sewerage and Water Board remains a dependable provider of this essential resource, and I am confident they will continue to supply our city with high-quality drinking water through ongoing, strategic infrastructure improvements.”
"Every time a New Orleanian turns on their tap, they're trusting us with their health," said Ghassan Korban, SWBNO Executive Director. "We take this responsibility seriously. The Sewerage and Water Board proudly provides safe drinking water to our city, and the 2022 water quality test results speak to that."
The 2022 report contains important information about New Orleans' drinking water, the water purification process, and the water quality test results for federally regulated contaminants. Its results show that over the past year, SWBNO continued to provide safe drinking water. Test results met or exceeded all federal water quality standards.
On the Westbank, one Louisiana state water quality metric – called total organic carbon (TOC) – was exceeded during part of the year. However, Westbank drinking water remained safe because organic carbons are not harmful to drink.[1] The utility completed improvements to the Algiers Water Treatment Plant in October to improve TOC removal and help ensure compliance with the Louisiana Sanitary Code's TOC removal requirements moving forward.
This year, SWBNO also included voluntary test results for soon-to-be-regulated chemicals in the PFAS family. These substances, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” are common in a variety of familiar products, including nonstick food packaging and cookware, water- and stain-resistant fabrics, and cosmetics. Based on the 2022 results, the utility already appears to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed limits. Still, SWBNO will continue to collect and publish data on PFAS over the coming year.
All SWBNO account holders will receive a mailed copy of the water quality report in July. It is also available online.
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[1] Under certain conditions, TOC can allow different substances called “disinfection byproducts” to form. While disinfection byproducts should not be consumed, ongoing tests confirmed that all SWBNO water remained well below state and federal limits for those chemicals throughout the year.