For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 9:04 AM
NEW ORLEANS, LA —Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) is pleased to announce a groundbreaking software partnership with ISeeChange, an AI powered reporting tool that uses real-time data to help manage stormwater infrastructure priorities and mitigate localized flooding.
In January 2025, SWBNO acquired the small drainage system - including catch basins and drain lines under 36” from the City of New Orleans. This transition complements the utility’s existing oversight of larger drainage infrastructure, such as canals and pump stations. SWBNO FloodTracker allows the utility to set a tone that centers communication with residents while advancing the utility’s commitment to improving the stormwater management system.
“This technology not only helps us makes smarter, data-driven decisions to better protect our neighborhoods from flooding, it also enhances communication and transparency. We will be able to better show and measure the impacts of our catch basin maintenance”, said M. Ron Spooner, Interim Executive Director of SWBNO.
Resident reports on the FloodTracker will help provide SWBNO with neighborhood-level data related to storm and flooding impacts, helping identify hotspots and prioritize the areas most in need of drainage maintenance. As part of the collaboration, ISeeChange will also provide advanced analysis and insights to assist SWBNO in making long-term planning decisions for stormwater infrastructure.
“From everyday nuisance puddles to tropical storms, our technology and AI is rooted in the everyday experiences of being residents here,” said Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO of ISeeChange. “New Orleanians have block by block level expertise when it comes to drainage. We take anecdotes from the public and turn them into the critically missing quantitative data needed to manage complex stormwater systems more efficiently.”
ISeeChange is a platform that has been deployed nationally to help prioritize storm drain maintenance, triage emergency response, and support mitigation projects. ISeeChange has provided its platform locally to residents since 2017. Its deployment by the City of New Orleans and Stantec in the Gentilly Resilience District aided project designs and modeling that resulted in $4.8M reallocation to the St. Bernard Campus project.
SWBNO FloodTracker is live and free to use. The service allows residents to share photos, videos, and stories of clogged catch basins when it’s not raining and help track flooding and problem spots. Residents can report drainage and flooding on https://www.swbno.org/Stormwater/FloodTracker. Residents who prefer to report drainage or flooding issues via telephone can still call 311.
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