Drainage Pumping Station (DPS) 01 Watershed

Mitigating Flooding Across Nine Neighborhoods

This green infrastructure project focuses on mitigating flooding across nine New Orleans neighborhoods situated along the Central Business District and Uptown areas within the watershed of Drainage Pump Station 1 (DPS 01).

View the Phase I Project Fact Sheet (currently in construction through 2026)

View the Phase II Project Fact Sheet

The following communities within this watershed experience frequent stormwater localized street flooding and property damage, due to regular rainfall and drainage limitations, and will benefit from this project:

• Broadmoor
• Central City
• Garden District
• Lower Garden District
• Irish Channel
• St. Thomas Development
• Touro
• East Riverside
• Milan

The project area where construction will take place is bound by Broad Street to the north, Martin Luther King Boulevard and Melpomene Street to the east, Tchoupitoulas Street to the south, and Louisiana Avenue and Toledano Street to the west.

Through the installation of bioswales, permeable surfaces (porous concrete, pervious asphalt, and permeable pavers), detention ponds, and corner street basins, this project will store 13 million gallons and delay 2.5 times the storage capacity (29 million gallons) of stormwater from overwhelming the drainage system and pump station.

This water will:

• infiltrate into the soil, maintaining our groundwater levels; 
• evaporate into the air through direct sun exposure and evapotranspiration from local vegetation;
• enter the City's drainage system as the pump station regains capacity after the peak of the storm.

During the storm, these installations provide relief to the pump station, allowing it to drain water from the local area first. By strategically marrying green and grey infrastructures (connecting drainage pipes and increasing their drainage capacity), this project provides integrated defense to residents living within the watershed.

Community Outreach Presentations

Click this link to view the presentation slideshow:  June 6, 2023 - Drainage Pump Station 01 Watershed Community Outreach Presentation

Click this link to view the presentation slideshow:  April 19, 2019 - 90% Resilience Design Review Presentation

Environmental Clearance Requirements

View the Saratoga Square Remediation FAQ

On January 30, 2020, FEMA published a request for Public Comment for the NHPA/NEPA¹ review of DPS-01 Watershed Drainage Upgrades and Green Infrastructure Project in New Orleans, LA.

• Read the Notice

On December 6, 2023, FEMA published a request for Public Comment for the draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the DPS-01 Watershed Drainage Upgrades and Green Infrastructure Project in New Orleans, LA.

• Read the Notice (no public comments received)