Some Uptown residents remain under boil water advisory

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – An Uptown neighborhood remains flooded following a water main break that happened Easter Sunday.

According to a spokesperson for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, records indicate the 30-inch water line, located at the intersection of Audubon and Cohn streets, was installed in 1905.

Crews have been working since Sunday to repair the line, which includes installing new temporary water valves to isolate the section that needs to be repaired. The spokesperson says once the line is fully isolated, full repairs to the water main can begin.

During the past three days, neighbors have had what seems like a shallow swimming pool in their front yards.

“Well, I woke up one morning, and I went to brush my teeth, and I had no water, so that was little confusing,” Garrett Haugh, who lives on Audubon Street, said. “Then, I looked out my window, and we basically had a river in the front yard.”

Once water was restored through temporary lines, a portion of the neighborhood was placed under a precautionary boil water advisory.

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As of Tuesday night, the boil water advisory for customers on Audubon Street from Spruce Street to S Claiborne Avenue is lifted.

The following households are still under a precautionary boil water advisory, but samples have been collected for testing:

•           Cohn St. from Lowerline St. to the dead end past Audubon St.

•           1900, 1901 and 1837 Broadway Ave.

•           Audubon St. from Spruce St. to Cohn St.

•           Audubon Blvd. from Hickory St. to S Claiborne Ave.

•           S. Johnson St. from Calhoun St. to the Tulane property line

“Boil water, put it in a pitcher, put it in the freezer, and you get four good cups of water out of that, so it’s a little time consuming, but nothing too horrible for us,” Dane Bachman, who lives on Audubon Street, said.

Because part of Audubon Street remained flooded Tuesday, some neighbors were forced to park their cars elsewhere.

“It’s quite a trek to get to my car or really walk anywhere because I obviously don’t want to walk through two, three feet of water, so a lot of hurdles, jumping over little patches of water and just trying to get around it,” Haugh explained.

Despite the unexpected flooding, some neighbors are choosing to stay positive.

“I’d say frustration because we can’t drive down our street, but [the] silver lining, I would say, [is] they’ve been working on this street for as long as I’ve lived here, so hopefully that might expedite the process.”