NEIGHBORHOOD STATISTICS
According to the New Orleans Data Center, the population of the footprint is 4,682. 62% of the residents are Black, 28.2% are White, and roughly 5% are Hispanic. The majority of residents are renters (77%) and 33% of the households are vacant in the Tremé/Lafitte Statistical Region. The average household income is $40,267 and 60.7% of the residents are living at or above the poverty line, while 39.3% live in poverty.
CHRONIC FLOODING
The Tremé neighborhood sits at sea level in some areas closer to the French Quarter, but moving in the direction of N. Claiborne Avenue and eventually N. Broad Street, the elevation falls below sea level. Areas closer to Esplanade Avenue sit at or above sea level due to the Esplanade Ridge, which is an area of naturally higher ground.
The Treme is plagued by chronic flooding. Some of the causes includes:
- Lack of storm drains in certain areas such as N. Johnson and St. Ann Streets
- Clogged storm drains
- Illegal driveways blocking drainage ditches from functioning
- Residential Development with a lot of impervious surface not covered by the City Zoning Ordinance
- Littering which clogs storm drains
- S&WB pumps not functioning properly (for example in August of 2017)
- Run off from Louis Armstrong Park and the I-10 Overpass
- More intense rainstorms due to climate change
- Lack of appropriate drainage infrastructure (such as lack of gutters on I-10)
- Imbalance of infrastructure investments, which is an equity issue
- Contractor malpractice such as observed cement and debris poured or run off in storm drains
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN TREME
The Water Wise Tremé Initiative began in 2016 with a partnership between Water Wise Gulf South and the Greater Tremé Consortium with support from Global Green.
Water Wise Treme has held or participated at 42 community outreach, education, and social events that have engaged about 786 people in the topic of green infrastructure.
To date, Water Wise Treme has:
- Installed 44 rain barrels
- Installed 7 Stormwater Planter Boxes
- Installed 7 rain gardens
- Installed 2 french drains
- Planted 47 trees
- Removed 900 square feet of concrete
In total, these projects have a storage capacity of 31,600 gallons.
