“Wise water management for a safer and stronger New Orleans”

We are a group made up of organizations who strive to

educate individuals about wise water management for a

safer and stronger New Orleans.

Water Wise NOLA

1) Neighborhood Water Wise

Workshops: Introduce green infrastructure and how

to incorporate it on your lot.

• Treme/Lafitte: October 2014

• 7th Ward/ St Claude/ Bywater:

November 2014

• Central City: January 2015

• Broadmoor/Zion City/Gert

Town/Hollygrove: February 2015

• Lower 9th Ward: April 2015

• Gentilly: May 2015

• Algiers: June 2015

• Mid City: July 2015

3) Professional Development: Online training to provide professional

development for stormwater

management.

2) Capacity Training: Build capacity in neighborhoods to

address rainwater management.

• Treme/Lafitte/7th Ward/ St Claude/

Bywater: December 2014

• Central City/Broadmoor/Zion

City/Gert Town/Hollygrove: March

2015

• Gentilly/Lower 9th Ward: June 2015

• Algiers: July 2015

• Mid City: August 2015

Participate with us on Instagram!

Follow: waterwisenola

Water Wise NOLA

Managing our Rainwater

Water Cycle

Pumping Water Out

Pumping Water Out

Pumping station at Lake Pontchartrain

Hiding Water

New Orleans: City of Water

New Orleans: City of Water

New Orleans receives 63 inches of rainfall on average per year

making it the second wettest metropolitan in the USA.

Poor Rainwater Management:

Subsidence

Wet sponge vs Dry sponge

Subsidence: What it means for

your neighborhood

Broken Streets

Subsidence: What it means for

your neighborhood

Shifting foundation

Poor Rainwater Management:

Subsidence

Flooding

Flooding due to rainfall will cost Greater New Orleans $8 billion

dollars over the next 50 years.

Street Flooding

April 2013

Street Flooding

July 2012

Thinking Outside of the Pipe

Thinking Outside of the Pipe

Grey Infrastructure: pipes, canals, pumping stations,

water treatment plants, etc

The S&WB of New Orleans currently accomplishes draining 63,000 acres by utilizing 90

miles of covered canals and more than 80 miles of open canals to convey storm water

runoff to 21 drainage pumping stations.

Thinking Outside of the Pipe

Green Infrastructure: Green Infrastructure is the use of

plants and trees to manage rainwater and reduce

flooding.

Typical ditch Ditch with a rain garden

Photo taken at 409 Andry Street (Lower 9th Ward)

Thinking Outside of the Pipe: More examples of Green Infrastructure

Bio Swale at Dillard University

Thinking Outside of the Pipe: More examples of Green Infrastructure

Rain Barrel installed in Gentilly

Thinking Outside of the Pipe: More examples of Green Infrastructure

Green Roof at 409 Andry Street (Lower 9th Ward)

Green Infrastructure:

How it Works

Infiltrate

Filtrate

Detain

Green Infrastructure:

How it Works

Green Infrastructure:

Why it is important

Green Infrastructure and low impact development allows individuals to actively

participate in small scale flood protection through a distributed approach to

managing water. When water is slowed down, held temporarily, and directed

into the soil (infiltrated), it can provide direct benefits on the property.

This approach also reduces the amount of stormwater trying to enter into the

city’s system of pipes until after the peak rains have passed, which reduces the

frequency of street flooding during small scale storm events and also improves

water quality in Lake Pontchartrain and other surrounding water bodies.

Green infrastructure is another tool for flood protection.

Living with Water:

Large Scale Planning

Led by Waggonner and Ball Architects

Visit: www.livingwithwater.org

Living with Water

Assessing your property

Begin with a sketch showing a general

outline of the property, structures and

other hard surfaces

Locate points where rainwater is

concentrated, such as downspouts and

pipes through curbs or walls, and where

it runs off hard surfaces.

Managing Rainwater on Your Lot

Identify where water can be intercepted

(what opportunities exist to manage on-site)

Backyard rain garden

Gravel trench

Planter box

Rain barrel

Stormdrain cleaning

Thank You!!

Please contact me with any questions:

Jeff Supak

(504) 525-2121

jsupak@globalgreen.org

Follows us on Instagram:

waterwisenola

Images courtesy of: Waggonner and Ball Architects, Dana Brown

and Associates, Water Works