Callahan Joins Nola Water/Drainage Board
Rear Adm. David Callahan—a retired two star admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard, former commander of the Eighth District, and former commander of Air Station New Orleans and, in 2005, the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., which responded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast—can now add interim director of New Orleans’ Sewerage and Water Board to his impressive resume.
Callahan retired from the Coast Guard in October 2017 after more than 30 years of service. On August 22, he was officially installed as interim director of the Sewerage and Water Board, which provides fresh water, water treatment and drainage system services for the city of New Orleans. Callahan follows Jade Brown-Russell, who had led the agency since May.
The Sewerage and Water Board, long bemoaned and belittled by New Orleanians, has had a tumultuous year. After a pair of summer 2017 rain and flash flood events—particularly a rainstorm on August 5 of last year which resulted in dozens of flooded cars and houses—the agency’s far-reaching dysfunction was laid bare. Some pumping stations weren’t staffed during the storm, major pumping stations were either not functioning or at diminished capacity, and some of the power turbines feeding energy to the Water Board’s pumping station were offline.
Cedric Grant, the executive director at the time of the August 5, 2017, flood, resigned soon after the power generation, pumping station and staffing issues came to light. Paul Rainwater, a lobbyist who previously led the Louisiana Recovery Authority and served as chief of staff for former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, took over on an emergency basis to lead the Water Board through the 2017 hurricane season. Marcie Edwards, a utilities executive from California, led the Water Board from January to May 2018. Jade Brown-Russell took over as interim director in May before being forced to resign earlier this month.
Brown-Russell’s resignation came after she approved significant raises for three Sewerage and Water Board deputy directors, in spite of the agency being under financial strain. The agency has long been criticized for unpredictable billing processes and inefficient operations.
Callahan, with ample organizational leadership skills, brings a stabilizing influence to an agency in tumult.
“During this transition, we are glad to have Adm. David Callahan step into place to manage vital functions and keep a steady hand on the wheel,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “The admiral served as the chief of HR for the entire U.S. Coast Guard and served as director for the Coast Guard’s Personnel Command. He was there for the people of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina—and he is absolutely the right man for the job.”
Callahan’s newest command will no doubt also be his most brief. The Sewerage and Water Board’s incoming permanent director, Ghassan Korban, is set to take over the first week in September.
