The
Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) has undertaken
a multi-year program, the Sewer System Evaluation and Rehabilitation
Program (SSERP), to identify and address structural and
mechanical deficiencies in the wastewater collection system
and to ensure that the system has adequate capacity. These
improvements, currently estimated at $639.4 million, are required
to comply with Section XV-Clean Water Act Remedial Measures:
Comprehensive Collection System Remedial Program of
the Consent Decree between the S&WB, the City of New Orleans,
the State of Louisiana, plaintiff intervenors, and the United
States of America, entered into in June 1998.
Montgomery Watson Harza is serving as the Program Manager for
the SSERP and is responsible for the coordination and oversight
of the numerous consultants, contractors, and other entities
carrying out the planning, design and construction of improvements.
Planning is performed in order to determine the structural
and hydraulic needs of the S&WB's sewer system. The structural
needs of the system are being evaluated through Collection
System Evaluation Studies (CSESs) performed in each of the
ten service basins by use of field investigation methods
(e.g., smoke and dyed water testing, closed-circuit television
inspection, etc.). The CSES produces recommendations for
rehabilitating those structural deficiencies identified.
Following the completion of the CSES, a Remedial Measures
Action Plan (RMAP) is prepared which identifies which of
the recommendations for rehabilitation will be performed
and the associated schedule.
The hydraulic needs of the system have been evaluated through
the development and utilization of a computerized hydraulic
model of the sewer system. This model was used to determine
the necessary upgrades to the system to sufficiently handle
peak sewer flows. These upgrades have been included in a
Corrective Action Plan, which identifies the recommended
improvements and the associated schedule.
Following the planning effort is the design effort during
which recommendations as to the specific improvements required
are finalized and construction contract documents are prepared
for bidding purposes. The construction project is then publicly
bid and awarded to the lowest bidder.
The construction phase of the program is the phase during
which the system improvements are put into place. Contractors
complete the work in accordance with the contract documents.
The work is monitored during the construction period and
re-inspected within a year following the completion of the
work to verify that the improvements are performing as specified.
