Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Urban Flood Control Project, New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board (S&WB)

The City of New Orleans has approximately 63,000 acres of land to drain. The S&WB of New Orleans currently accomplishes draining this by utilizing 90 miles of covered canals and more than 80 miles of open canals to convey storm water runoff to 21 drainage pumping stations. These pumping stations currently have a combined capacity of 31.5 billion gallons per day.

The City of New Orleans experienced several catastrophic rainfall events causing billions of dollars of property damage and losses of income. In order to mitigate these events, the USACE and the New Orleans S&WB created a drainage improvement program known as SELA.

ILSI was contracted to provide construction and program management for the SELA program. The PM’s responsibility includes the management of drainage improvements being designed by seven engineering firms, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, hydraulic and structural designs, utility relocations, feasibility studies, alternative analyses, cost estimates, public involvement programs, and inspection services.

Over $1B dollars of work was authorized for Orleans Parish. These projects are currently under design and construction and are planned for completion by the year 2020. There are ten (10) projects recently constructed including seven (7) covered concrete canals and three (3) drainage pumping stations (Florida Canal 1, Napoleon Canal 2, Claiborne Canal 1 & 2, Jefferson Canal 2, Hollygrove Canal, Dwyer Road Discharge Canal, Dwyer Rd. Pump Station, Pritchard Place Pump Station and modifications to Pump Station No. 1 at Broad St.).