Boil water advisory issued for entire East Bank of New Orleans, Algiers Point

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A precautionary boil water advisory has been issued for the entire East Bank of New Orleans and Algiers point on Tuesday, Aug. 6 after a balloon caused a power outage at a water plant.

The advisory comes from the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans in consultation with the Louisiana Department of Health and follows water pressures dipping below 20 PSI due to power failure at the Carrollton Water Treatment Plant. The Algiers Water Treatment Plant was also briefly affected by the power outage.

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“A Mylar ballon contacted a powerline near the Carrollton plant at approximately 7 p.m., which created a very brief power fluctuation—causing pumps to be tripped offline. SWBNO crews were able to switch over to backup power and get additional pumps online, but not before the water pressure fell below the threshold for issuing a precautionary boil water advisory,” Entergy New Orleans reported.

Water pressure to the affected areas has been restored, but the advisory remains in effect until water samples are collected and tested.

On Wednesday morning, the SWBNO announced that the advisory will likely remain in effect until Thursday afternoon.

Additionally, the department reported that an employee was seriously injured while working to get the pumps back online. The SWBNO is investigating how it happened.

The part of the West Bank that’s affected falls within the following boundaries:

• Donner Street to Idaho Street

• Idaho Street from Donner Street to General de Gaulle Drive

• Wall Boulevard from General de Gaulle Drive to Pace Boulevard

• Pace Boulevard from Wall Boulevard to General Meyer Avenue

• Merrill Street from General Meyer Avenue to Patterson Drive

People in the affected areas should drink, cook, clean food or brush teeth with either boiled or bottled water until further notice. Anyone with a compromised immune system should also take these precautions when washing their hands, showering or bathing.

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The SWBNO encourages the following precautions for healthy adults:

• “[For] washing hands, use soap and tap water, dry hands, then apply hand sanitizer; the safest option is to wash with bottled or boiled water.”

• “[For] showering or bathing, be careful not to swallow any water. Infants, young children and disabled persons should be supervised to ensure water is not ingested. Residents with open wounds, chronic illness or weakened immune systems should use boiled or bottled water to bathe until the advisory is lifted.”

Residents will be notified by the SWBNO when the boil water advisory is lifted. The LDH also provides recommendations for managing a boil water advisory.

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