New Orleans utility launches AI tool to track neighborhood flooding

(UI) — The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) has introduced FloodTracker, a new AI-powered reporting tool developed in partnership with local organization ISeeChange to monitor and address localized flooding across the city.

The tool allows residents to submit photos, videos and reports of clogged catch basins or street flooding. Those submissions will help SWBNO identify problem areas, prioritize drainage maintenance and make long-term infrastructure planning decisions.

“This technology not only helps us make smarter, data-driven decisions to better protect our neighborhoods from flooding, it also enhances communication and transparency,” said M. Ron Spooner, interim executive director of SWBNO. “We will be able to better show and measure the impacts of our catch basin maintenance.”

SWBNO acquired oversight of the city’s smaller drainage systems — including catch basins and drain lines under 36 inches — earlier this year. The utility already manages larger drainage infrastructure such as canals and pump stations.

Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO of ISeeChange, said community input is crucial to improving stormwater management. “From everyday nuisance puddles to tropical storms, our technology and AI is rooted in the everyday experiences of being residents here,” Drapkin said. “New Orleanians have block-by-block level expertise when it comes to drainage. We take anecdotes from the public and turn them into the critically missing quantitative data needed to manage complex stormwater systems more efficiently.”

ISeeChange has been used nationwide to support storm drain maintenance and mitigation projects and was previously deployed in New Orleans’ Gentilly Resilience District. SWBNO FloodTracker is available at swbno.org; residents can also call 311 to report issues.

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