The Great Galveston Storm, a Category 4 hurricane, hit the city of Galveston, Texas in 1900. The stormwaters and winds from the storm destroyed approximately 50% of the city’s residential areas.
With hurricane season upon us, it’s more important than ever to have a plan to control flood and stormwaters during or after a hurricane or major storm. Here are three ways you can prepare to fight back against flooding to keep high stormwaters from destroying your city.
- Use drainage channels. Cities like Houston, TX have built drainage channels, outfalls, off-road ditches, on-road ditches, and detention ponds to move water away from local areas or to hold them in those areas. The roadways provide overrun when they fill with water. The stormwater may temporarily turn interstate freeways into rivers, but these freeways are actually designed to keep the water there so it can be pumped away later using hydraulic water pumps.
- Use impervious surfaces to your advantage. Areas such as sidewalks, parking lots, roads, and other pavements that are built using asphalt, concrete, brick, stone, and other building materials create surfaces that are impervious to absorbing water. In fact, less than 1% of the land in the U.S. is hardscape and approximately 40% of the hardscape within cities is impervious. When using drainage channels consider using impervious surfaces to your advantage by holding the water in these areas for hydraulic water pumping later on.
- Have hydraulic water pumps on hand. Hydraulic water pumps are ideal for flooding because they prevent floodwaters from sitting and becoming still water. Still water can be a major source of illness and disease. Hydraulic pumps move floodwaters from the flooded area to a body of water to help mitigate the effects of the flooding.
Looking for industrial hydraulic water pumps?
When flooding and stormwaters affect your town or city, hydraulic water pumps can help to mitigate these waters. Hydraulic water pumps use rotating or reciprocating parts to move water from one place to another such as a flooded area to a canal or lake.
If you’re looking for water pump services to prepare your city or town in the event of a hurricane or major storm, we have the industrial pumps for you. To learn more about our water pump rentals, contact us today.