The new head of the Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans comes to the job from Milwaukee, and he already has big ideas about what the city must do to prevent flooding like it experienced last summer.
Jeff Adelson reports on the agenda of the new executive director of the Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB), Ghassan Korban.
According to the article, Korban is pursuing an aggressive agenda that stops no short of replacing entirely the city's drainage, water, and sewage systems.
"Three weeks into his job, the new S&WB executive director is laying the groundwork for a bold plan that would go beyond the short-term fixes and emergency repairs that have dominated the agency since well before last summer’s floods in New Orleans," writes Adelson. "His eye is on a multiple-decade master plan that would see brand-new systems for drainage, water and sewerage — a process that would mean at least tens of millions of dollars a year in new money from residents."
In August 2017, New Orleans was struggling to deal with stormwater and flooding from rain that fell everyday since the beginning of April.
Read the full story: New Orleans S&WB head: 'Replacement is the only option' for drainage, water, sewer systems
Monday Map: Water Infrastructure in New Orleans
The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans has launched its first public dashboards to track its operations and initiatives.
Michigan needs billions to save its water infrastructure. The state won't fund it
Michigan needs to invest $2.8 billion per year over the next 20 years to fix its water infrastructure. The FY 2027 budget allocates only $27.9 million.
Public works officials indicate alarming decline in condition of water and sewer systems
Increased awareness of infrastructure issues combined with aging equipment and more extreme weather are leading more public works officials to feel their local systems are 'unsatisfactory.'
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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