NEW ORLEANS, LA — A joint committee of the New Orleans City Council today sounded the alarm about chronic customer service issues within the Sewerage and Water Board. Council offices have experienced a recent uptick in complaints regarding lack of communication from SWBNO representatives. During today’s meeting, Council Vice President Matthew Willard urged top leadership at the agency to provide updated customer service protocols by next week to improve proactive resolution of constituent issues.

In the hearing, multiple councilmembers described inconsistencies, long resolution times, and lack of follow-up experienced by their own offices in addressing constituent complaints with SWBNO.  

“Our constituents deserve for their concerns to be taken seriously,” said Council Vice President Matthew Willard. “The Sewerage and Water Board provides my team a satisfactory response to constituent issues only 25% of the time, and we have to follow up on 55% of requests to get a response. I know it’s worse for regular people. SWBNO must do better.” 

“The Council is beginning to see a troubling pattern of SWBNO Customer Service failing to take customers’ concerns seriously, and that failure is already causing real damage,” said Council President JP Morrell. “Just this week, I visited residents on Killdeer Street who had repeatedly reported leaking water and dangerously leaning trees following SWBNO repair work. For two weeks, their concerns were ignored and dismissed. Then an oak tree fell, causing significant damage to their lawn. This should never have happened. SWBNO Customer Service needs to take residents’ concerns seriously, respond promptly, and do its job before a preventable problem becomes a much bigger one.” 

"Not only are responses from Sewerage & Water Board often delayed, but they are also frequently copy-and-paste answers without substantive information," said Councilmember Aimee McCarron, District A. "We cannot accept this lack of transparency and communication, and neither should residents. The Sewerage & Water Board must do better. I look forward to implementation of the customer service changes suggested by this Council." 

“My district has experienced repeated, unannounced water outages that have severely impacted residents and small businesses already struggling through the slow summer months,” said Councilmember Lesli Harris, District B. “Unfinished roadwork across the district continues to trigger these outages. Sewerage and Water Board must be more efficient when it comes to construction in our neighborhoods.” 

"We cannot continue to accept silence and delays as standard operating procedure at the Sewerage and Water Board," said Councilmember Freddie King III, District C.  "New Orleans residents are frustrated by the constant lack of follow-up, and it is time to ensure every concern is met with swift, transparent, and proactive communication." 

“There are significant issues throughout our city, but the recent situation on Killdeer Street in Lake Terrace shows us how quickly a water leak can become a serious public safety concern when it is not addressed promptly,” said Councilmember Eugene Green, District D. “I appreciate the Sewerage and Water Board’s efforts to resolve the immediate issue, but we also have to look at how these matters are reported, prioritized and communicated. Our residents deserve a timely response, clear information and confidence that when a serious infrastructure issue is reported, it will receive the urgency it requires.” 

The council directed the agency to put key reforms into place immediately, including assigning customer service staffers to each council office, sharing contact information for key escalation agents, and publishing an updated plan to shorten response times and improve follow-up. Further structural improvements are needed long-term to improve the water utility’s accountability to the council and the people of New Orleans.