The Sewerage & Water Board has just enough power to run New Orleans' drainage pumps ahead of expected intense rainstorms and flash flooding across southeast Louisiana, according to the utility.
According to its online dashboard, as of Monday morning the S&WB has 45.5 megawatts of the 25-hertz power it needs to supply its pumps that operate on that antiquated frequency. That is just enough to run that part of the system at full capacity.
The system typically requires 44 megawatts of 25hz power when running at peak demand.
Those older pumps represent roughly half the system’s total drainage capacity. The pumps that make up the remainder of the system run on a higher, more reliable power frequency.
Turbine 5 photographed at the Carrollton Water Plant in New Orleans, Friday, June 10, 2022. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) ORG XMIT: BAT2206171721050127
The National Weather Service warned Sunday that the storms expected to roll through Louisiana on Monday and Tuesday are the most significant weather threat the region has faced in months. Forecasters expect 3 to five 5 inches of rain along with wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The storms could produce tornados.
Many schools across the region have announced they plan to dismiss early on Monday.
When it comes to its power supply, the S&WB would prefer to have more breathing room ahead of heavy rainfall, since the 25-hz power sources are prone to malfunctioning and a single mishap could worsen any street flooding. A critical steam-operated turbine failed during a Dec. 2 storm that flooded streets in parts Mid-City, Lakeview and Broadmoor.
That decades-old turbine, known as Turbine 4, is still out of service and is expected to remain unavailable through the end of January. To keep the pumps running on Monday, the utility will rely on an even older turbine, Turbine 5, which was out of service going into the Dec. 2 storm but has since been repaired and is ready for use.
The utility will also rely on emergency backup generators that supply 25-hz power, as well as frequency converters that “dumb down” modern 60-hz power before channeling it to old drainage pumps. That additional equipment is also prone to occasional failure. Two of the five backup generators were out of service early Monday, according to the S&WB dashboard.
Ultimately, the S&WB wants to do away with all the faulty 25-hz power generators and run the old pumps through an Entergy substation and new frequency converters.
The substation is the centerpiece of a new power complex on the utility’s south Claiborne Avenue campus, and is expected to be complete and ready for use in mid-2025.
