Shreveport Water and Sewer Director Resigns

Shreveport loses another key person in the Perkins administration. Water and Sewer Director Barbara Featherston has tendered her resignation to the Mayor and Chief Administrativer Officer Henry Whitehorn.

In the resignation letter, dated Featherston says

It is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation with the City of Shreveport as Director of Water and Sewer. I have accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Health as District Engineer for District 4 which includes Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe. I am pleased that this will allow me to continue to ensure that public health is a top priority.

Featherston's last day working for the city will be August 14th, but she will take vacation/comp time the following week to get prepared to take on her new job on August 24th.

Mayor Perkins issued this statement:

Barbara Featherston has served the City of Shreveport for more than a decade. During that time, she has worked tirelessly to improve the Department of Water and Sewerage and provide better service for our citizens. We are grateful for her service and wish her the best as she embarks upon this wonderful new opportunity with the State of Louisiana.

Featherston has been leading the city effort to manage a massive system upgrade to meet the terms of a consent decree with the federal government to correct major deficiencies that resulted in multiple sanitary sewer overflows that had occurred over the course of several years. Immediate action had to be taken. Further deterioration of Shreveport’s sewer and water infrastructure had to be resolved to avoid litigation.