Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans was created by Act #6 of the Louisiana Legislature in 1899. Its original membership was sixteen, one member from each of the city's seven municipal districts and the nine members of the already constituted Drainage Commission. The latter body had been established by Act #114 of the 1896 Legislature with "full power to control and execute the drainage of the City of New Orleans." The complete merger of the two agencies was accomplished in 1903.

Act #111 of 1902 changed the membership to include the Mayor; representatives of the City Council, the Board of Liquidation, the Boards of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District and the Port of New Orleans; the Commissioner of Labor and Statistics; and citizen taxpayers from each municipal district and from at-large districts. Acts #229 of 1936 and #361 of 1954 made minor changes in this apportionment of representation. The Board is also included as a city agency in the New Orleans Home Rule Charter by reference to the existing state legislation.

The Board's functions have remained fairly constant: it is charged with the construction, control, maintenance, and operation of separate water, sewerage, and drainage systems for the City of New Orleans. Overall supervision of these systems is assigned to an Executive Director and a General Superintendant, both of whom are chosen by the Board. There is also a Division of Management Services which oversees the financial, personnel, revenue & customer service, and special services of the agency. The Board's work force is under the Dept. of City Civil Service. Revenue sources for the Sewerage and Water Board are user fees, city appropriations, city taxes, and bonds.

From the description of Records, 1899-1988. (New Orleans Public Library). WorldCat record id: 18736132