Hundreds of thousands of residents in New Orleans were under a “boil water advisory” after an electrical failure occurred in the city’s water pumps.
The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Department issued the advisory after a Mylar balloon struck a power line, shutting down a drinking water pump.
“Around 7 p.m., a Mylar balloon came into contact with power lines near the Carrollton (water treatment) plant, causing a very brief power surge that caused the pumps to go offline,” a spokesman for Entergy New Orleans said.
According to a WBRZ report, water pressure dropped during the outage and a SWBNO employee was injured while trying to manually turn the water pump back on.
Received a call from the newsroom asking which balloon caused the power outage/boil water warning. Mylar balloons are made from a special type of polyester film. They are made by sealing together plastic/nylon sheets coated with a metallic material. pic.twitter.com/VFWASDZAPb
— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) August 7, 2024
According to WBRZ:
Some New Orleans residents will have to live without water for another day after a Mylar balloon hit power lines Tuesday afternoon, causing power outages and disabling drinking water pumps. The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said it is conducting testing that will wrap up Thursday afternoon.
If all samples pass inspection, the boil water warning will be lifted.
SWBNO said crews attempted to manually turn the water pump back on after the balloon hit power lines.
One SWBNO employee was injured during the crisis response, and two other employees prioritized providing medical assistance to their colleagues. Due to a medical emergency, it took the team approximately 50 minutes to restart the pump. While waiting, the water pressure dropped for 10 minutes, triggering the warning.
Mylar balloons caused boil water advisory for much of New Orleans, Entergy says
Click on the image to learn more… https://t.co/rcobP2bCCZ
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) August 7, 2024
