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Public Works details pump-station, drainage and road plans as department reports growth and vacancies
Summary
Public Works Director Miles Bingham told the council the department now has 233 positions (206 filled), a higher work-order volume this year, SCADA gains at pump stations and a backlog of capital projects. He and council members discussed servitude acquisition and schedules for Kindler and Paul Frederick streets.
Miles Bingham, director of Public Works, presented the department’s annual report at the Oct. 20 St. Charles Parish Council meeting, outlining staffing, work-order volume, pump-station upgrades and an expanding pipeline of capital projects.
Bingham said Public Works has 233 total positions, of which 206 were filled and 27 remained open. Through September the department logged 15,833 work orders opened and 15,270 closed, figures he said are roughly 2,000 higher than the same point last year. Bingham described multiple intake routes for work orders, including reports from residents, council members and parish staff, and explained that AssetWorks is used to scope and assign tasks.
On utilities, Bingham said the parish operates pump stations on both banks: 34 stations with 91 pumps on the West Bank and 24 stations with 64 pumps on the East Bank. Two pump stations were added to the SCADA remote-monitoring system this year, raising the SCADA count from 17 to 19, and automated flow meters and upstream detection have been installed at several sites. He estimated the two newly added pump stations increased total capacity by nearly 200,000 gallons per minute.
Bingham reviewed recent emergency responses (a Jan. 22 snowstorm and a July 17 rain event), noted improvements at the Cross Bayou pump station, and credited interdepartmental cooperation—particularly with the legal department—for allowing right-of-way and servitude acquisitions that previously stalled projects.
The department summarized paving and drainage work completed in 2024–25 and listed upcoming projects, including mid-block drainage outfalls and repairs on Kindler and Paul Frederick streets (project P210704) and a Barber Road bill that may require additional funding. Bingham said the Des Allemands boat-launch project had been bid and would be presented later on the agenda for contract acceptance.
Council members asked for timing and servitude status. Councilwoman O’Daniels and Councilman Pillier pressed for clarity on when projects move from planning to the capital chart; Bingham and Parish President Matthew Jewell said many projects are in design or in the budget pipeline and that some elements are scheduled for construction in 2026, with sewers and drainage sequenced to avoid rebreaking newly paved roads.
Bingham thanked his staff for operational work and said future pump-station upgrades, added sumps and capacity increases are planned.
