According to some reports, flooding in some areas of the country, recently, caused up to two feet of water in homes.  Immediately after the water receded, and homeowners were able to dry their belongings, the water started to rise again.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this story, particularly for those who saw water enter their homes, much of it could have prevented, had there not been a municipal water pump failure.  The problem was immediately known, but the pump wasn’t responding to the rising water levels.  It never turned on, and the water continued to rise, a second time.

The meteorologists did report that rain fell totaled more than four inches, and in some cases rain gauges read almost four and a half inches, in a single day.  That is a lot of water for the rivers and lakes to talk on.  So, within an hour of the start of the storm, the waters were rising and it was clear that there could be problems.  When the pump failed, it was a certain thing.

It appears that yet again another municipality is being punished for not keeping up with sewer, and drainage maintenance. This latest is a town in Louisiana that sustained massive damages to residential homes because of the pumping station failure to operate. This type of apathy is seen throughout the country, where city officials do not pay mindful attention to the preventive maintenance programs in their towns. It can cost money to maintain equipment and to pay the folks that keep these systems operating, so the governments let the repairs, and the maintenance routines slide.  Unfortunately, they learn rather quickly that the cost is much greater when the system must be overhauled.

When they realize the error of their ways, it’s too late and the residents of those towns and cities can be forced to pay the price. With pressure, and level controls, like the NoShok 100 series pressure transmitter, and the PMC Surface water submersible transmitter, pumping facilities have no excuse for not noting issues before the problems get out of hand.  These sensors keep everyone abreast of the red flags that could mean serious complications later on, but those alerts also mean that there is time to make repairs, rather than learning about the issue after homes have flooded.