USFilter Operating Services, Inc. (USFilter) has presented the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) with a proposal that would save New Orleans residents more than $600 million and create 350 new jobs through a public-private partnership to operate and manage the city's water and sewer systems.
"USFilter has presented New Orleans with the best offer that any water company has ever made to a city," said Ron Davis, executive vice president and general manager of USFilter Operating Services. "Our solution will save New Orleans residents and families in excess of $600 million that can be used to fix the city's water system and avoid massive rate increases for ratepayers," he added.
Davis also said that New Orleans' water and sewer systems are in a state of crisis due to poor management and inefficiency. "For every two gallons of water produced, one never makes it to the consumer," he explained. "On any given day, one in five employees don't show up for work. Years of decay have forced the federal government to order the S&WB to spend over $550 million just to get New Orleans' water and sewer systems to acceptable standards. If the city does nothing, the average New Orleans' resident will see their wastewater/water bill of $67/month jump to $115/month in the next four years. We think New Orleanians will find these simple facts unacceptable."
"New Orleans ratepayers are already paying top dollar for their water services," said Andrew Seidel, USFilter's president and CEO. "The problem is that they are receiving bottom-dollar service. There is a better way as we've demonstrated repeatedly."
USFilter partners with 600 communities in the United States and Canada on water and wastewater projects. The company has an approximate 95 percent contract renewal rate.
Source: USFilter
