RIGHT NOW, THE BOIL WATER ADVISORY HAS BEEN LIFTED FOR NEW ORLEANS AFTER YESTERDAY’S WATER MAIN BREAK, WITH LEADERS HOPING TO REOPEN THE IMPACTED STRETCH OF CLAIBORNE AVENUE BY FRIDAY. BUT THE BIGGER GOAL IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, AS THE CITY GRAPPLES WITH AN ANTIQUATED SYSTEM. WDSU ALYSSA GOMEZ JUST SPOKE WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE SEWAGE AND WATER BOARD ABOUT HIS MESSAGE TO NEIGHBORS AND WHAT’S NEXT. YEAH, RANDI NOW, AS WE KNOW, A VERY SIMILAR SITUATION HAPPENED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO IN UPTOWN IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. SO I ASKED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RANDY HEYMAN WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE SURE THIS DOESN’T KEEP DISRUPTING THE LIVES OF NEW ORLEANIANS. AND HE SAYS, AT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THEY NEED TO LOOK INTO NEW TECHNOLOGY AND WAYS TO IDENTIFY PROBLEMS BEFORE THESE WATER MAIN BREAKS BURST, BUT ALSO THAT WE JUST HAVE AN OLD INFRASTRUCTURE. NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, WORK IS STILL BEING DONE ON THAT PIPE BEHIND ME. THAT WAS A 48 INCH LINE. THAT WAS NEARLY 90 YEARS OLD. MAYOR HELENA MORENO WAS ALSO OUT HERE ON SITE, SPEAKING WITH THE CONTRACTORS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THAT WORK SINCE THE PIPE BURST. SHE WAS ALSO SPEAKING WITH LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED AND HAD THEIR BUSINESSES SHUT DOWN. AS WE KNOW, SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES HAVE HAD TO CLOSE AS A RESULT OF THIS. SO WE ASKED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ABOUT WHAT HIS MESSAGE WAS TO THOSE BUSINESSES AND SCHOOLS AND REALLY ANYBODY THAT’S BEEN IMPACTED BY THIS. INCONVENIENCE THEY’VE HAD TO EXPERIENCE. BOTTOM LINE IS WE HAVE AN OLD SYSTEM AND SO IT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. AND IT’S A GOOD THING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE THE MONEYS NEEDED TO DO SOME CONSTRUCTION ON THIS, ON THIS STREET AND MAKE THE REPAIRS. AND ON THIS ONE, WE’RE GOING TO DO WHAT WE CAN AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AND GET OUT OF THE WAY AND BRING IT BACK TO NORMAL FOR THEM. LIKE I SAID, THE WORK IS STILL UNDERWAY. BUT THE BIGGEST NEWS RIGHT NOW IS THAT THE BOIL WATER ADVISORY HAS BEEN LIFTE