It could be another five years before the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board switches over to an automated meter reading system to correct its billing problems. That’s according to the utility’s executive director in his response to a state audit of its billing system.Amid outrage from customers, state lawmakers last year approved a resolution that called for the audit, the results of which were released Monday. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor recommends the change to automated meter readers, among others.Billing errors are the result of inadequate training of S&WB staff and limited data migration from the previous system, according to the audit. The Sewerage & Water Board is also “nine major releases” behind with its updates to the billing system software, a problem utility officials will correct this spring, according to its response.One issue the audit highlights is the amount of water the Sewerage & Water Board provides for free. The Legislative Auditor said the utility does not accurately track that amount, specifically for entities that have a cap on their usage, such as the Audubon Zoo and New Orleans public schools. Outdated laws and processes are part of the problem when it comes to monitoring free water use, according to the S&WB’s response to the audit.The billing system will cost the Sewerage & Water Board nearly $11.5 million by the year 2025 – a 20 percent increase from initial projections based on audit calculations. The system was purchased from Cogsdale Corp. in 2016.

It could be another five years before the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board switches over to an automated meter reading system to correct its billing problems. That’s according to the utility’s executive director in his response to a state audit of its billing system.

Amid outrage from customers, state lawmakers last year approved a resolution that called for the audit, the results of which were released Monday. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor recommends the change to automated meter readers, among others.


Billing errors are the result of inadequate training of S&WB staff and limited data migration from the previous system, according to the audit. The Sewerage & Water Board is also “nine major releases” behind with its updates to the billing system software, a problem utility officials will correct this spring, according to its response.

One issue the audit highlights is the amount of water the Sewerage & Water Board provides for free. The Legislative Auditor said the utility does not accurately track that amount, specifically for entities that have a cap on their usage, such as the Audubon Zoo and New Orleans public schools. Outdated laws and processes are part of the problem when it comes to monitoring free water use, according to the S&WB’s response to the audit.

The billing system will cost the Sewerage & Water Board nearly $11.5 million by the year 2025 – a 20 percent increase from initial projections based on audit calculations. The system was purchased from Cogsdale Corp. in 2016.