The New Orleans City Council just passed the first new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in 40 years. One part of the ordinance, Article 23, mandates a more “green” approach to water in the city — specifically, all the extra water we get from heavy rain and storms. The ordinance clears the way for new ditches, rain barrels and more to help retain and absorb storm water, instead of letting it pour into the sewer.
WWNO Coastal Reporter Jesse Hardman sat down with New Orleans’s water management team: Cedric Grant, Executive Director of the Sewerage and Water Board; Bob Rivers, the City Planning Commission’s Executive Director; and the city’s first ever storm water manager, Prisca Weems.
The discussion covered the new CZO, and the city's vision for how water will be managed going forward.
