The Mayor of New Orleans is President of the Sewerage & Water Board. During Mitch Landrieu’s term 2010-2018 the city flooded in August 2017 during a Saturday afternoon rainstorm.
The Mayor’s office blamed it on “climate change.” Landrieu was in Aspen having dinner at the Aspen Institute. Residents noted the water just stood for hours. Days later following citizen’s pressure, the City Council called for a special meeting.
Deputy-Mayor Cedric Grant resigned just before the meeting. Grant had no engineering experience. Earlier that month, he and Mitch Landrieu declined to comment on the Inspector General Report of Lead in New Orleans drinking water.
In November 2017, the election for Mayor was held. Whereas most cities install their mayor in early January, Landrieu arranged to stay in office till May and be the host of the Tricentennial Parties.
Thus the position of Mayor Cantrell appointing a new head of Sewerage & Water Board was delayed until after the 2018 Hurricane Season. Once chosen, it was revealed that street drain lines were only being cleaned every 15 years. 46 tons of Mardi Gras beads were removed from 5 blocks of downtown. A car was found in a large drain line.
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