Like many communities across the U.S., the City of Shreveport is working to eliminate overflows of its sanitary sewer infrastructure into area waterways. Facing a 2026 deadline to comply with a federal consent decree ordering the reduction and elimination of such overflows, Shreveport turned to our team for program management services to identify and implement solutions.
The consent decree was issued in 2014, establishing five phases for implementation of remedies, expected to cost approximately $350 million. By 2019, the first two phases were complete, but expenditures were approximately $415 million, primarily because investigations of the sewer system had revealed substantially more defects and costs associated with repairs than originally expected.
At that time, the city brought in our team to oversee this complex program. Our initial review indicated that proposed projects would need to be prioritized to fit budgetary limitations.
Prioritizing Investments
In conjunction with local partners Bonton Associates, Sustainable Design Solutions and Envision Media & Marketing, we worked with the city to implement significant program changes that reduced inefficiencies and redundancies, improved financial transparency, and better leveraged technology. The program began using a structured process for design delivery that utilizes best practices from private-sector capital programs.
Additionally, instead of launching massive investment programs to repair all underground infrastructure, our team ranked the projects that provided the greatest return value, while supporting the city’s obligation to provide reliable utility service. This approach allows the city to correct the most significant issues that have the biggest impact on the long-term viability of the wastewater system.