[BITList] weird.....

[CT's]

?I know this place is weird, but now we have an unusual brand of electricity.................?
      ct

      Large boiler rupture sparked New Orleans water trouble
      Published: Thursday, November 25, 2010, 3:08 PM     Updated: Thursday, November 25, 2010, 3:12 PM
       Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune 
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      The sudden rupture of one of about 800 tubes inside an enormous boiler at the Sewerage & Water Board's in-house power plant late Friday night sparked a chain reaction that led to a 41-hour boil-water advisory across the east bank of Orleans Parish, officials said Wednesday.
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      Mayor Mitch Landrieu
      While a key backup system that converts commercial power into the unusual brand of electricity generated by the S&WB managed to restart operations within 10 minutes of the crash, difficulties restarting some pumps that send purified water to homes and businesses delayed the return of water pressure, they said. 

      It was that delay that prompted the boil-water advisory, which state health officials call whenever water pressure plummets to a level that could allow contaminants to invade the city's drinking water via cracked pipes. 

      S&WB Executive Director Marcia St. Martin said Wednesday that "throughout this event, the water that was distributed from the east bank water purification was not compromised."

      She also said S&WB customers on the east bank will receive a two-day rebate on their next water bills to compensate for protracted loss of drinking water. 

      Mayor Mitch Landrieu has called the equipment failures part of a broader challenge of aging infrastructure that New Orleans residents must confront. On Wednesday, he called the sequence of events that led to the boil-water advisory a wake-up call to cities around the country.

      "New Orleans is the canary in the coal mine for the nation's infrastructure," he said. 

      The S&WB estimates it would cost $180 million to rebuild its power plant. A request to Congress is pending.




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