Reports › Infrastructure

In Making the Waterworks Work: Fixing the Sewerage & Water Board’s Governance Problems, BGR examines how the agency’s governance has contributed to its problems, presents options for reforms and makes recommendations for change.

In Over the River: The Future of the Crescent City Connection Bridge & Ferries, BGR examines the implications of allowing bridge tolls to expire and options for funding the bridge and ferries in the future.

In The Price of Civilization: Addressing Infrastructure Needs in New Orleans, BGR provides information on New Orleans’ core infrastructure needs and assesses the community’s capacity to fund those needs.

In On the Ballot: Jefferson Parish, April 4, 2009, BGR examines two transit taxes up for renewal by voters.

Street Smarts: Maintaining and Managing New Orleans’ Road Network provides an overview of street management systems and explores the challenges New Orleans faces in maintaining its streets.

For more than a year and a half, the Sewerage & Water Board (“S&WB”) has actively pursued a procurement for the private management, operation, and maintenance of the S&WB’s water and wastewater systems. This week the S&WB is scheduled to take a critical step in the process: deciding whether or not to contract out (privatize) these large and vitally important segments of it operation.

The new study reassesses the S&WB’s selection process in light of developments over the past year and discusses certain critical issues with the S&WB’s proposed service agreement.

On March 2, 2002, Orleans Parish voters will be asked to decide whether the City Charter should be amended to require voter approval of decisions by the Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB) to enter into certain privatization contracts.

In this issue, BGR focuses on one specific area of local government—the public works function. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview of how this department is organized, where it receives its funding and how it spends its resources.