Water & Sewer director reports $620 million spent on consent decree work; litigation, negotiations ongoing

William Daniel, director of the Water and Sewer Department, told the Planning and Infrastructure GIS Committee that the city is still engaged in consent-decree litigation and settlement negotiations with EPA and the Department of Justice and that a full briefing may require an executive session because of the litigation status.

Daniel provided program-level updates: sanitary sewer assessments for Phases 1–4 are complete, CCTV work for Phase 5 is underway, remedial-measure plans need revision for Phases 3–4, and the sewer hydraulic model was redeveloped. He told the committee: "We've spent on the consent decree approximately $620,000,000 to date." Daniel said those costs have been covered by rate increases and that rates "have approximately doubled since 2014." He reported grants secured of $5,000,000 (water sector commission) and $8,000,000 from the LDEQ Clean Water Fund and said the city had submitted or would submit a letter of application to EPA for WIFIA to finance a large portion of remaining costs using bond money as the local match.

Daniel said about 40 lift stations are under construction or beginning construction, most scheduled for completion by 2027, with an additional roughly 20 lift stations under design. He emphasized negotiations with federal regulators are ongoing and that the city is not near a final settlement. Committee members were advised that a closed executive-session briefing would be the appropriate forum for more detailed updates due to litigation and negotiation sensitivity. No formal committee vote was recorded on the matter during the public update.