Clean Water Shreveport is a multi-year program that is the City of Shreveport’s formal effort to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The program helps protect our community’s environment and improves the water and sewer infrastructure of our city.

Shreveport’s sanitary sewer system consists of 1,100-miles of pipe and 120 pump (lift) stations. This infrastructure conveys untreated sewage through our city to two treatment facilities for processing. Contaminants are removed by the treatment facilities and treated water is discharged into the Red River.

Our sewer system is old and has deteriorated over time. Parts of it are undersized and in poor condition. Some of the pipes leak due to corrosion from sewer gases, cracking or breaking from shifting soil, or even stress from blockages within the pipe. These issues have caused sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) to occur throughout our city. When this happens, untreated sewage can be released onto the ground or into waterways.

 Our sanitary sewer system must be updated to meet regulatory standards. In 2014, the City entered into a Consent Decree with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Consent Decree requires that the City repair defects in the sanitary sewer system to eliminate SSOs. Work must be completed within a 12-year compliance schedule ending on November 12, 2026.