ELECTRICITY: About 1/2 of the city has it. The City's responsibility was to clear the roads so CLECO could re-build the power lines. Public Works and Fire started before the winds died down last Monday. Pre-arranged crews began arriving Monday afternoon. By Tuesday we had 13 crews working. This allowed CLECO to come in on Wednesday with 50+ trucks. By my count, we have had 30 - 50 trucks each day, making headway.
WHAT ABOUT MINE?: I still have not found an accurate predictor of where and when electricity will return. I have noted it emanates from substations and their feeds. However, that's really not very helpful. Every day someone gets juice and others don't. That stoppage line is an unpleasant mystery.
SEWER LIFT STATIONS have been a major challenge since last Thursday. Our sewer collection system is not designed to run days on end without electricity. Of our 68 lift stations, the larger ones all have generators. We have been rotating four large, portable generators throughout the mid-size stations. These are not household generators and require an electrician to make the connection plus a city employee to monitor the well while it runs. Last report this afternoon we were down to only 27 stations not having full electric power. Hopefully that number will drop when CLECO flips the repair switch this afternoon. If there is a sewer backup in your neighborhood, we (the City) cannot tell you to open the cleanout in your yard. Good Note: The sewer plant got off of generator power yesterday.
BOIL WATER ADVISORY remains in place as a precaution. As long as the City's water wells are on generator power, protocol is we maintain a boil water advisory. Should a generator go down that would lead to a drop in pressure and possible contamination. To date, there has been no reports of contamination nor any pressure drops.
GARBAGE PICK-UP is a rotten mess. Due to the local and national labor shortage and spike in Covid, Coastal was struggling to get Commercial Licensed Drivers and hoppers (the guys on the back of the truck that hop on and off) before the storm. This is why we temporarily suspended recycling. I visited with their competitors and found them to be in the same situation. Coastal lost more drivers due to storm damage. I was pleasantly surprised when Coastal showed up last Wednesday to get what they could. I was told prior-to that they would not get it all, but would return for missed pick-ups on Saturday. Saturday came and only one driver … who had not been to Covington before … made it. Their track record indicates we should get a full sweep come Wednesday. I will continue to push, prod, nudge, smile and complain.
RELIEF AID is showing up in many different forms. The priority for most agencies has been south central Louisiana. We are fortunate to have grocery stores open, streets we can drive on and, for most of us, a roof over our head. Various churches and businesses are providing supplies. Big one at Claiborne Hill tomorrow from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
FUEL SHORTAGE appears to be abating. Many stations had gasoline today with relatively short lines. Let's hope it stay that way.
