Jefferson Parish drainage director briefs Kenner council on pump stations and aging infrastructure

Ben Lapine, Jefferson Parish Drainage Director, told the Kenner City Council on Aug. 22 that the parish-wide stormwater system serving most of Kenner has three basic components — collection, conveyance and discharge — and described current capacity, operations and planned projects.

Lapine said the parish operates 72 pump stations with 194 pumps, about 340 miles of open canals and ditches, roughly 14.65 miles of subsurface drainage, 80,000 catch basins and inlets, 5,500 manholes and 2,800 canal outfall pipes. He said most of Kenner lies in the Duncan Basin (about 9,900 acres) and that combined outfall capacity for airport, parish line and Duncan pump stations can move water at a rate Lapine summarized as being able to “fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 13.2 seconds.”

“Stormwater drainage systems at its basic really has three components,” Lapine said. “Collection is starting on your streets with your drop inlets and catch basins. ... The subsurface system will get it to the major canals where it conveys all the water to the pump stations which then finally pumps the water over the levee protection system.”

Why it matters: Lapine emphasized the system’s limits. He said the localized system can handle about 1 inch of rain in the first hour and one-half inch every hour thereafter, noted low elevation and subsidence across Jefferson Parish, and cited aging infrastructure — including metal drain pipes nearing the end of service life — as a driver of ongoing maintenance and capital needs.

Council members pressed Lapine about several routine operational topics. Councilman Brannigan thanked him for responsiveness and noted that residents sometimes do not understand why water pools in streets before it drains out of subdivisions. “As long as it’s not going into houses, basically, that’s the goal,” Brannigan said.

A councilwoman asked whether the parish has a program to replace aging pipes; Lapine said the parish inspects pipes, can line pipes, and carries out capital projects that replace pipes “every year” as needed. On pump power, Lapine said the parish uses both electric and diesel-driven pumps; he gave typical sizes — about 3,000 horsepower for the larger diesel engines and about 700 horsepower for electric motors — and said the parish tests systems weekly and maintains a preventive maintenance program.

Lapine described ongoing and planned projects affecting Kenner: the Woodlake pump station (in final permitting), selection of design engineers for a new Vintage-area pump station (about 600 cfs, an 8–10 year projection), an expansion of the Parish Line pump station to add one pump, and a 200 cfs pump planned for South Kenner. He also described routine maintenance needs — canal dredging, bank stabilization, culvert clearing, weed control and nuisance-animal management — and said pump stations are monitored remotely and can be manned 24 hours when needed.

Lapine noted the parish maintains five-day fuel supplies at safe rooms to operate through extended power outages and that automated systems have manual overrides. Councilman Lahat asked about interagency communications with Orleans Parish related to the airport pumps; Lapine said communications are open and the parish monitors the airport station through SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems.

Ending: Council members thanked Lapine for the briefing and said they appreciated the parish’s responsiveness. No formal action or vote was taken on the presentation; Lapine’s remarks and the Q&A were presented as information to the council and public.