New Orleans council passes S&WB oversight measures; some employees skeptical

By Ben Myers

Source: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

August 6, 2026

The Story

The New Orleans City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a series of measures to increase oversight of the Sewerage & Water Board, the first steps in what city officials say will be a historic transformation in the troubled utility’s governance and operations.

The measures approved on Thursday give Mayor Helena Moreno greater control of the governing board, require council approval of budgets and executive contracts and set up new emergency protocols. The council is also requesting a special audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor to review the utility’s finances.

BGR’s Role

The new measures are aimed at fixing something critics like the Bureau of Governmental Research, a public policy watchdog group, have long identified as the root of the S&WB’s problems: its convoluted governance, in which an independent governing board oversees operations while funding decisions are made by state and local officials. [This] has led to a “misalignment” of accountability, as BGR has put it. 

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