Water Justice Fund: Recommendations for a New Stormwater Management System

 

A Bold Vision for the Future:

Local Nonprofit Presents Recommendations for a New Stormwater Management System

On February 7, 2024 at 10:00 AM, The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans (TWC) will host a press conference at Messina’s at The Terminal to share its official stormwater utility fee policy recommendations — The Water Justice Fund of New Orleans — with media, community members, and key stakeholders. The recommendations put forth, with substantial community input, propose the first equitable stormwater system that solves funding and flooding challenges and is beneficial, ecologically and financially, for residents and businesses. 

“The City of New Orleans and the Greater New Orleans region were established because of our relationship with water. This relationship is, and will always be, directly connected to the region’s economic relevance and wellbeing.   Thus, Greater New Orleans, Inc. recognizes the need to educate, empower, and unite all New Orleanians — in hand with our businesses, organizations, and institutions — around the need to maintain, reimagine, and modernize our water infrastructure,” says Michael Hecht, President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc.

The report’s recommendations provide details on how the City Council and Mayor’s Office can create a new governance model and financing structure — shifting authority away from the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans and the New Orleans Department of Public Works — to improve stormwater management in the City of New Orleans. The new stormwater utility will unite all agencies managing stormwater assets and create a cohesive plan and actionable steps to overhaul drainage.

In an effort to advance community-driven recommendations based on best practices, TWC examined case studies from some of the most successful stormwater utilities in the nation and conducted two years of stakeholder engagement, including a 10-part community workshop series, a campaign kickoff in May 2023, and canvassing of nearly 10,000 households in all five districts.

“As a professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, I recognize the importance of a well-rounded, comprehensive, and equitable stormwater fee,” says Dr. Jeannette Gustat, a member of the steering committee for the Water Justice Fund. “A stormwater fee can help provide needed funds for improving our current drainage infrastructure. I am proud to have a seat at the table of discussions for the drafting of recommendations for a stormwater fee in the City of New Orleans. New Orleans can become the hub of green infrastructure while also improving our current drainage infrastructure. The Water Collaborative  is leading this effort and is striving to ensure that all those that are impacting our drainage system contribute to the improvement of it, in addition to improving and creating more green infrastructure throughout  the city."

Residents are tired of living in fear, dealing with damaged property, and paying high insurance rates. We are all tired of poor governance and the inequitable financing of drainage through millages. New Orleans desperately needs immediate, robust and dedicated funding to properly update, maintain and prioritize both grey and green infrastructure. Our detailed report outlines critical policy recommendations for a new, equitable and innovative stormwater utility and fee that improves drainage, builds resilience, and creates public trust, transparency and oversight. These recommendations are an official answer to the unique challenges in New Orleans.

TWC would like to thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Pisces Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, and Walton Family Foundation for funding this initiative. TWC would also like to thank our thought partners, including the Prevention Institute, WaterNow Alliance, Greater New Orleans Foundation, Greater New Orleans, Inc., and New Orleans Advancing Cities Collaborative.

Lastly, TWC thanks the many contributors to these recommendations, including the City of New Orleans Departments of Parks & Parkways and Public Works, the City of New Orleans Offices of Economic Development and Resilience & Sustainability, Seventh Ward Strategies, Thrive New Orleans, Urban Conservancy, Civic Studios, Baltimore City Department of Public Works, Philadelphia Water Department, Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, Tulane School of Public Health, and the members of our Stormwater Fee Steering Committee, Public Advisory Group, and Community Engagement Committee.

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Media

 
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