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Driving across the Jefferson-Orleans parish border from west to east on Veterans Boulevard, over the 30-foot-wide 17th Street Canal, the scene changes from one of bustling streets lined with populated restaurants and gas stations displaying "help wanted" signs, to one of deserted, water-logged houses, cars and scattered motor boats washed up on dead lawns.
Art Depodesta, co-owner at Cooter Brown's Tavern & Oyster Bar in Uptown New Orleans, which is south of the canal, said he's frustrated with how Jefferson seems to have more resources at their disposal compared to Orleans Parish.
Although electricity is still out for 47 percent of customers in Orleans Parish as of Monday, water was declared drinkable last Thursday with the exception of the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans East, according to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals's Office of Public Health. C.J. Guenzel, a resident of Uptown New Orleans who returned to the city this past weekend, said he ran the water for 15 minutes before taking a shower. He said he didn't notice any unusual smells or coloring, but he still avoided drinking it.
Meanwhile, Jefferson Parish, located immediately west of Orleans Parish, has had potable water for about four weeks, said Wayne Kolfskey, a scientist for the Jefferson Parish Water Department.
"I can estimate, the boil order on the West Bank [of Jefferson Parish], which had a lot less damage, was lifted on Sept. 8," said Kolfskey, adding that a coliform, or bacterial, sampling for that area took place. "The East Bank [of Jefferson Parish] took another week."
In Metairie, Jefferson Parish, the Italian Pie pizzeria on Veterans Boulevard opened on Oct. 4 and currently serves water from the faucet. A sister Italian Pie on South Rampart Street in the central business district opened yesterday, but Katy Chan, an employee of the pizzeria, said they will serve bottled water to customers.
The 17th Street Canal levee system that divides the two parishes broke on the Orleans side, causing flood waters to rapidly rise in the city the day after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the region. And because of this levee break, the main difference in the reestablishment of drinking water is that New Orleans started off in a much worse situation than Jefferson, said Doug Vincent, chief engineer for the state's Office of Public Health.
"If [the levee break] had been on the other side, the tables would have been turned," Vincent said. "They may be adjacent, but they're distinctly different."
In addition to being an older system than Jefferson's, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board's pipes sustained more leaks and breaks and had more flooding of pipes and facilities, Vincent said. Even vehicles and equipment normally used to assess leaks and take samples were incapacitated by flood damage.
"It's only been recently that they've been able to get in and assess damage," Vincent said.
Around the second week in September, the Sewerage and Water Board's water treatment plants began pumping water through the system, Vincent said. As this began, the certified laboratory also began assessing the water system's pressure, chlorine levels, and sample results from coliform analysis. Vincent categorized coliform as an indicator organism for other potential dangers, such as E. coli and other fecal associated bacteria and viruses. He said samples have been taken two to four times a week and have totaled several hundred since the hurricane.
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