re: NOLA Pumps to get new power source

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he pump motors that require 25HZ power have been in service since the 1920s. I can’t understand why at some point in the last 75 years these motors were not replaced with modern motors eliminating this non-standard power requirement. There have been nothing but “band aids” applied to the problem over the years instead of addressing the root problem. Now Entergy is tasked with building yet another better, bigger “band aid” with their frequency converter project.

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Grift, greed, and jobs. That’s why. Seriously, look at the pump projects after Katrina

My first job out of engineering school was working for a consulting firm that had NOLA S&WB projects. I was doing mechanical design on the pump stations for the Carrollton Water Treatment plant. I know a lot of those old pumps work on 25 Hz power and the power was produced by the NOLA S&WB power plant at Carrollton. The electrical motors that work off 25 Hz power are VERY old but VERY reliable and still work very well today.

Everyone else in America uses 60 Hz power.

So it looks like they are closing up the Carrollton power plant and hiring Entergy to provide power to those old 25 Hz pump motors. But first Entergy has to install a frequency converter from 60 Hz to 25 Hz to run those old motors.

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This plan would switch over the rest by building a new substation at the Carrollton Plant and installing frequency changers that would convert Entergy's power to the archaic standard used by about half of the S&WB's equipment.

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I can’t understand why at some point in the last 75 years these motors were not replaced with modern motors eliminating this non-standard power requirement.

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Expense. And those 25 Hz motors are tanks. Extremely reliable.

One of those old turbines had a pilot light that could only be lit using a long broom straw.

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Funny, but Entergy supplies all kinds of plants and is extremely reliable. Not everyone gets the same reliability from a utility.

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Entergy's biggest problem is its demographics. The regulators don't let them spend appropriate amounts to harden the grid bc their service territories are occupied by some of the poorest ppl in the US of A. Pretty much no issues in Montgomery County TX for some reason...

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One of the pumps that feeds the Carrollton water treatment plant with Mississippi River water has been running since 1905 IIRC.

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I run by that one all the time on my long weekend runs.

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aging and ailing turbines that power the city’s drainage system, city and utility officials announced Wednesday.

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Remember all that free money from Katrina?

Apparently it didn't buy power for flood pumps

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To be fair though this only currently happens 9/10 times it rains or the wind is slightly higher than normal

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Or when Beyoncé takes the stage.

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Remember all that free money from Katrina?
Apparently it didn't buy power for flood pumps

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I love to criticize S&WB, and they no doubt misused Katrina funds, but the pump power issue and Katrina flooding are two totally separate things, and as such, little to no money would have been given to S&WB for pump power upgrades.

You have to understand the major cause of the flood was the failure of the levees and floodwalls. Most of the pumps were working up until the levees failed. A lot of the Katrina rebuilding money went to shore up the levees, build walls and pumps at all the major outfall canals, and the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier.

Sorry. Just had to correct the record.

Now, with that said, S&WB has received significant federal funds not related to Katrina. Those funds were intended for upgrades. I'd wager a lot of that money has been completely wasted.