Metallic balloon hits power line, plunges nearly all of New Orleans into boil water advisory, officials say

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - A boil water advisory was issued for the entire east bank of New Orleans and Algiers Point after a drop in water pressure that utility officials are blaming on a floating metallic balloon.

One city worker was seriously injured responding to the situation.

A sudden drop in water pressure was reported in several parts of the city Tuesday around 7 p.m., the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board said. The pressure loss was severe enough that the boil advisory was issued for nearly all of the city, save a portion of Algiers, around 8:15 p.m.

The utility board said water pressure in the affected areas fell below the 20 pounds per square inch deemed necessary to maintain water safety because of a power failure at the Carrollton Water Treatment plant. The Algiers Water Treatment plant also was “briefly affected” by the power outage, the board said.

Entergy New Orleans later confirmed the cause of the power outage: A floating metallic balloon that drifted into a power line.

“A Mylar balloon contacted a power line near the Carrollton (water treatment) plant at approximately 7 p.m., which created a very brief power fluctuation -- causing pumps to be tripped offline,” an Entergy New Orleans spokesman said in an email. “SWBNO crews were able to switch over to backup power and get additional pumps online, but not before the water pressure fell below the threshold for issuing a precautionary boil water advisory.”

A Sewerage and Water Board Operations team member was seriously injured trying to get the pumps back online.

The rogue balloon set off a chain of events illustrating not only the fragility of New Orleans’ infrastructure six months before the city is to host Super Bowl LIX, but also causing a domino effect of expense and inconvenience for city residents, tourists and businesses that will take at least 24 hours to resolve.

“The whole city is under a BWA because... a single balloon?” Councilman Joe Giarrusso asked on social media. “C’mon. We need a better explanation from the utilities.”

“That’s insane. Is that real?” one stunned resident asked.

Gairrusso questioned why backup power did not kick in.

“The superseding is why it took so long for the backup power to come online, particularly when the water hammers are supposed to provide time to resolve the back-up power,” he wrote.

Water pressure to the east bank of New Orleans and Algiers Point has been restored, but the precautionary boil advisory is in effect until water samples can be collected and tested, a process that takes at least 24 hours. When water pressure drops below 20 psi, there is a heightened danger of bacteriological contaminants to enter.

Until cleared by testing in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Health, water in the affected areas is potentially unsafe to consume.

Shawn Wyman, manager of the Bayou Beer Garden in Mid-City, said the city’s restaurants, bars and hotels must adjust quickly when water issues arise.

“If the water ever goes out, we really have to kind of halt business almost immediately, to a certain degree,” Wyman said. “Running to Rouses, getting bottles of water, soda water, sodas, everything like that. Most of what runs through that (beverage) gun, I mean it’s all coming from the tap. So it definitely disrupts service for sure.

“It happens more often than you’d want it to happen. ... It’s just part of living here, you know?”