The Sewerage and Water Board (SWBNO) suspended water service shut-offs Thursday, March 12, and will adhere to this policy change for the duration of the Mayor’s Declared Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SWBNO will also proactively work to restore water service to those customers who have been disconnected.

“At the core of our mission is to keep New Orleans safe and healthy,” said Ghassan Korban, Executive Director, SWBNO. “Washing your hands and keeping clean is a first line of defense against coronavirus, and so we want to ensure all our residents have access to clean water.”

Our team will begin restoring water service to customers currently without water as quickly as possible. We will start with the most recent shut-offs. We will also prioritize customers who call to inform us that they are seniors or have chronic medical conditions.

To promote social distancing during this emergency, we encourage customers to pay online or over the phone by calling 52-WATER (504.529.2837) rather than visiting SWBNO’s customer service centers. At 5 p.m. today, we will also suspend fees for customers who pay online or pay at one of our remote Fidelity locations. We expect higher than normal call volume during this emergency, so we ask for our customers' patience as we work to serve them.