Chemilizer ready to ease hurricane water shortage concerns
LARGO, FL April 21, 2006 -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year, Tim Dickson, an executive with Chemilizer Products located in Largo, received an urgent telephone call from Dick Jarvis, a volunteer from The Florida Baptist Convention's Disaster Relief Organization.
"We are building water purifiers to support the critical water needs caused by Hurricane Katrina," Jarvis began with a sense of urgency. "Your Chemilizer unit is a critical component needed in our system design. In order to be good stewards of the scarce monetary resources, could you consider a discount to us in the cost of your product?"
Jarvis told Dickson during that telephone call that many of the municipal sources providing drinking water in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, were compromised or not functioning.
The conversation was short and to the point. "The ability to get drinking water in these areas is essential," Jarvis said. "We need to begin building the water restoration units soon." Dickson, immediately conferred with company president, Frank Daniels and affirmed that he would provide Chemilizer units at "no cost" and would send the injectors as fast as humanly possible.
As Dickson later recalled the call from Jarvis, he was surprised at the innovative design of the system that Jarvis had designed of which the Chemilizer unit was part. Jarvis, a retired engineer, had used Chemilizer units in earlier systems he built and knew first hand of their reliability and precision. And, because they are water powered, electricity was not needed for them to function. This was important, he says, because electrical power is not always available in these devastated areas.
"Knowing our units are helping the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort provide the basic necessities of potable drinking water to those in need is an honor for our company," says company president Frank Daniels.
The Chemilizer units are part of a portable water purification system. Each of the portable units consists of four stages: micron filtration, media filtration, ultraviolet purification and chlorine injection. After the first three stages, the Chemilizer unit injects the correct amount of chlorine into the output flow of water, ensuring additional purification, as well as, "residual" chlorine to maintain purity.
Recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 2006 hurricane season could be as harsh or harsher than year 2005. Last year 28 named storms were born with 15 becoming full blown hurricanes. This year the NOAA is predicting 17 named storms with at least nine becoming hurricanes.
Both Jarvis and Dickson say they're ready for anything this year. "I'm hoping that we don't have to send any of our units anywhere," Dickson said. "But if our units are needed again this year, we will respond fast.
Chemilizer Products Inc. (www.chemilizer.com) is celebrating its 30th anniversary of producing quality injectors' for global users in water treatment, agriculture, animal health, horticulture and industry.
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