“A Visit to the Pump Station” — special print feature available in the New Orleans Advocate/Times Picayune only on Sunday, December 22, 2019.

Water Creature

Floating Sculpture by Carole Alden

On Sunday, August 4, 2019, we launched a 30-foot water creature on Bayou St. John. Over the course of the preceding week, artist Carole Alden led the design and creation of this sculpture, working primarily with salvaged materials provided by the Green Project.

Carole learned about the Blue House and Civic Studio through Mixed Media I: Incarceration while she was in prison. After completing her sentence in 2019, she joined us in New Orleans to imagine, build, and launch a large water creature inspired by the waterways and water systems of New Orleans.

Carole developed a buoyant frame for the fish using sawn PVC pipe sections, metal wiring, and insulation foam. Carole guided volunteers in turning construction fencing and old CDs into a glittering skin for the fish, reworking discarded grass mats into fins, and laser discs into eyes and teeth. We also installed solar-powered lights to light up the fish at night.

The creature floated out on Bayou St. John for two days and two nights, and has been re-installed at the Green Project for public viewing.

Learn more about Carole and her artwork here.

The Water Creature is a 30-foot water creature designed by artist Carole Alden, constructed by Carole and a team of volunteers over the course of a week in August 2019. (Photos by James Collier)
The creature lived on Bayou St. John for two days and two nights. Solar-powered LEDS lit up the creature from the inside after dark. The creature has been re-installed at the Green Project for public viewing. (Photos by Maggie Hermann and James Collier)
The team transported the creature from the Blue House to Bayou St. John in segments, before wiring the pieces together, attaching the fins, and applying final layers of paint. (Photos by James Collier and Sergio Padilla)
During the course of construction, Carole made only one drawing. She relied, instead, on an intuitive feel for scale, structure, texture, and materials. She developed construction details that made it possible for people of all ages and abilities to take part in the making of the fish, from the way in which the fish skin was painted and textured, to the way in which recycled plastic threads were used to connect different pieces.

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Key Terms and Acronyms

Sewerage & Water Board New Orleans, SWBNO

The public agency that operates the city’s drainage, drinking water, and sewerage systems. SWBNO is responsible for large pipes, culverts (underground canals), canals, and drainage pump stations. (The Department of Public Works is responsible for catch basins and small pipes.) The drainage system includes 24 drainage pump stations, 120 drainage and constant-duty pumps, and an annual budget of over $50 million. Learn more here.

Pumping Plant Operator, PPO, Pump Station Operator

The person in charge of each individual pump station is a “pumping plant operator.” For this body of work, we refer to PPOs as “pump station operators.” (In our project overview and a few other instances, we refer to everyone we spoke with -- including supervisors, relief operators, PPOs, and UPWs -- collectively as pump station operators.)

Utility Plant Worker, UPW, Helper

A utility plant worker assists the pump station operator (see above) with all aspects of running a pump station. UPWs are sometimes referred to as “helpers.” By taking part in a seven-phase training program, each UPW has the opportunity to become a pump station operator.

Drainage Pump Station (DPS #)

When it rains, water flows into storm drains, and from there into the city’s network of pipes and canals, which brings water into the suction basins of the city’s pump stations. Each pump station is identified by number, e.g., DPS 1 or DPS 6 or DPS 19.

Central Control, Central

Key functions for the entire drainage network are located at the SWBNO’s Carrollton Plant. These include turbines that generate power for pump stations, frequency changers, and dispatch and supervisory functions. Each pump station communicates with “Central” on a daily basis, and continuously during each storm.

Suction, Vacuum, and Discharge

The city’s drainage pumps require operators to create a vacuum between the suction and discharge sides of the pump station, which allows atmospheric pressure to push water from both sides up into the pump. A spinning impeller then pushes that water towards the discharge side of the station. Read more about the Wood screw pump here and here.