Subscribe to our 

In an October 4, 2008, article in the Houston Chronicle, author Terri Langford revealed that bringing the pumping stations in Galveston, Texas, on-line after a storm was not a consideration in the extensive disaster plan that the city presented in February 2008. (Read the full story here.)

The pumping station failure in Galveston after Hurricane Ike was due to several factors, Langford elaborated, including the fact that the pumps were powered by natural gas, which was shut off prior to the arrival of Ike. Moreover, elements of the pumping station were outdated, including a main water tank from 1888 and almost 50-year old gas powered pumps.

In response to the pumping station failure in Galveston, Michael Howe, the executive director of the Texas division of American Water Works Association in Texas, said, “The public simply assumes that the water will always be there and the wastewater will go away.” Recent natural disasters, and past catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, have shown that our municipal systems are still limited when it comes to preparation readiness. The public may stop assuming that the water will be there and the wastewater will go away after disasters if preparation does not improve and aging infrastructure is not updated.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Alexandra Ferretti Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.