Data & Statistics

To better provide valuable information to its customers, the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans has launched its first public dashboards to track its operations and initiatives as it works to improve services. They will be regularly updated to illustrate our progress.

These initial dashboards will track the total number of active residential, commercial and industrial customer accounts, and the progress to reduce the number of bills under investigation for irregularities. Future dashboards are being developed to track a host of data, including Customer Service metrics, progress in hiring new employees, repairing water system leaks and operational status of the drainage system. Other aspects of the S&WB's mission will be added in time to promote transparency and responsiveness to customers and the public.

The tracking dashboard for bills under investigation will be updated monthly. The data will include the number of investigations underway, the number resolved and a section describing S&WB strategies to better respond to customers' needs.

Meter Reading Actual vs. Estimated

2023 Goal: 85%

This metric represents the number of meters where a reading was retrieved by the Meter Reader vs. the number of meters that were not readable, could not be located, obstructed or maybe not assigned due to attendance. For these reasons an account is estimated.

Meter Read Accuracy

2023 Goal: 90%

The meter read accuracy metric tracks and compares the percentage of meter accurate reads vs. questionable reads that are retrieved by the Meter Reader.

Bill Dispute time-to-resolution

2023 Goal: 45 days

Reduce # of days for a bill disputes to be completed.

Average Speed of Answer

2023 Goal: 90 seconds

Time the customer waiting in the call queue.

Number of Customer Disputes (Investigations)

Billing Escalations Received / Resolved

This is a new metric that compares the number of billing escalation complaints received Vs. resolved.

Billing Escalations time to resolution

2024 Goal: Time to resolution will vary from 5-7
days based on the type of escalation.

Escalated Billing Dispute is either: 1) The customer has already gone through the investigation and administrative hearing process and is not satisfied with the outcome 2) The customer has been waiting for a hearing to be scheduled for more than 60 days 3) The customer has submitted documentation to substantiate an adjustment and has not received follow up communication from SWB staff 4) The customer has been unsuccessful in resolving the issue and has contacted CNO councilmember.

This map is an approximate representation of the installation dates for New Orleans’ water mains, based on available historical data. It does not account for the condition of pipes, which is often dependent on the material used and the effects of flooding following hurricanes. It also does not represent every point repair made over the years. It does, however, demonstrate that most of the city’s mains are more than 80 years old. Industry standards suggest typical water mains have a life expectancy of approximately 50 years, and should be replaced before reaching the end of that span.

The S&WB taskforce on the billing system has developed a series of improvements to reduce billing irregularities experienced by customers. Highlights include:

Hiring: 20 new meter readers; 20 temporary employees to correct backlog of irregular bills; 10 more inspectors to investigate possible leaks; 11 more billing clerks to process new irregular bills. Goal is to fill these positions by July 2018. Salaries have also been increased for meter readers and certain Customer Service positions.
Goal Setting: Reduce the more than 10,000 open investigations in May 2018 to half that number by July.
Suspension of Late Fees: Customers can request a payment plan.

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