After Katrina: N.O. drainage, evacuations continue as Congress mulls $51.8B in additional aid for Gulf states

TULSA, OK, Sept. 8, 2005 -- Criticism continued to mount, albeit of a more partisan nature, of the Bush Administration's handling of the crisis following Hurricane Katrina with the White House battling back to recover from what the president called the "blame game." Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin provided a review of newspaper reporting on the subject (free registration required to view).

Meanwhile, Congress mulled over a $51.8 billion in additional aid for the region that was expected to be passed today, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Biloxi Sun Herald reported that the city had lost a fifth of its structures to the hurricane, while the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality cautioned people to stay out of the water due to contamination.

In Alabama, the Mobile Register
reported that a massive Airbus Beluga aircraft arrived today with 22 tons of hurricane relief supplies from the United Kingdom and France. They're to be distributed throughout Mississippi's Hancock County, which includes hard-hit Gulfport.

In New Orleans, the Times-Picayune reported that 25,000 body bags were being assembled and warned that the risk of toxic floodwater was growing due to "E. coli, certain viruses and a type of cholera-like bacteria." No one was certain of the impact would be of pumping this water back into Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters flooded the city when levees holding it back were breeched. At its homepage, the newspaper also provided a link to a five-part series, "Washing Away", it published in 2002 looking at what would happen if a major hurricane struck the city.

Among releases received by PennWell's Water Group from water and wastewater industry companies, Veolia Water let it be known Wednesday that it would like to hear from employees from its wastewater facilities in Kenner, La., or New Orleans, asking that they check in at the company's 24-hour hotline number at 877-631-1431 for important company information.

In addition, Thompson Pump and Peerless Pump have both pledged immediate assistance to helping flooded areas, hospitals and other crucial infrastructure get back up and running in the affected areas. For these and other related articles, see the headlines below:

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To contribute directly through the American Red Cross and for the latest news on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, see: www.redcross.org/news/.

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• Extensive Damage to the New Orleans Water Supply Requires a Tennessee Valley Authority-Style Bailout -- NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2005 -- As part of its research into investment opportunities in the water industry, The Wall Street Transcript recently conducted an interview with Zane Gresham, a partner at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, co-sponsor of its "Profiting in the Water Industry" investor conference Dec. 1 in San Francisco. In this interview, Gresham discussed the effects of Hurricane Katrina, including, the factors that caused contamination of New Orleans' water supply and recommendations for remedying such damage...

• Shaw Begins Work under Contract with FEMA for Hurricane Katrina Recovery and Rebuilding; Shaw Committed to Rebuilding Southern Louisiana and Gulf Coast Communities -- BATON ROUGE, LA, Sept. 8, 2005 -- The Shaw Group Inc. announced that it has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide support services in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Under the terms of the contract, Shaw will provide all support services necessary to provide housing assistance for displaced residents including site assessments, design, construction, transportation, utilities and facilities management. In addition, the Company will provide on-demand services to meet the general needs of displaced residents. Shaw will also provide administrative services to register displaced residents housed at emergency shelters in multiple locations in Texas and other impacted areas. The contract is valued up to $100 million, with provisions for cost-plus, time and materials or fixed price task orders. The contract has a base period of one-year, and an additional one-year option period...

• Ecoloclean Industries Mobilizes Water Purification Unit to Biloxi, Mississippi -- CRYSTAL CITY, TX, Sept. 8, 2005 -- Ecoloclean Industries Inc. announced that it, in conjunction with its wholly owned subsidiary, World Environmental Technologies Inc., has received confirmation from the mayor of Biloxi, Miss. to accept Ecoloclean's offer to provide and deliver a mobile water purification system to the Biloxi Community Center and begin processing contaminated water such that it becomes drinkable for hurricane victims....

• American Water Star to Lease Option a Plant near New Orleans and Receives Re-Orders for Its Flavored Beverages -- LAS VEGAS, Sept. 8, 2005 -- American Water Star Inc. informed shareholders that prior to Hurricane Katrina it was in negotiations to enter into a lease with an option to purchase a plant located in Kentwood, La. Kentwood is located about 85 miles northwest of New Orleans. The plant is 75,000 square feet on 6-1/2 acres with a natural spring. The plant has been producing 3- and 5-gallon bottles of water for home and office delivery. Two other lines are set up to run 1- and 1-1/2-liter PET production. Estimated capability is 35 trucks a day (about 1.2 million bottles). It's now installing generators to get the plant up and running. This will allow it to more quickly get water to FEMA locations in the hurricane devastated area...

• Thompson Pump activates Emergency Response Team to aid Hurricane Katrina relief -- PORT ORANGE, FL, Sept. 7, 2005 -- Port Orange, Fla., company announces mobilization of its Emergency Response Team to provide pumping equipment, supplies and manpower to Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Thompson's Baton Rouge, La., Jackson, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla., branch locations are operational and facilitating the relief effort. Initial concentration is focused on flooding relief in the New Orleans and coastal Mississippi areas, but other operations will include getting hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, water plants, power generation facilities and refineries up and running. Thompson Pump is a 30-year veteran in disaster relief having facilitated cleanup efforts with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the World Trade Center collapse, several flooded areas in the Midwest and hurricane damaged areas in the Southeast...

• Peerless Pump Puts Equipment on Tap to Bail Out New Orleans, Other Flooded Areas -- INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 7, 2005 -- Peerless Pump Company, a Midwest pump manufacturer, promised some of its high-powered pumps and technical assistance to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of New Orleans to relieve flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, in a humanitarian gesture, workers volunteer extra time to assemble horizontal split-case, single-stage pumps capable of moving up to 25,000 gallons of water per minute...

• Sionix Corporation Offers Self Contained Water Treatment Systems to Provide Potable Water for Hurricane Victims -- IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 7, 2005 -- James J. Houtz, President of Sionix Corporation announced that it has been in constant contact with the officials from the State and Government Offices of the Gulf Coast to provide potable drinking water to the populace of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sionix expects to receive word on placement within a few days. At this moment, they are completing life saving measures and then the supply line of infrastructure will commence...

• IBWA: Bottled Water Keeps Flowing to Hurricane Katrina Victims -- ALEXANDRIA, VA, Sept. 7, 2005 -- The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has been hard at work participating in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, said IBWA President Joseph K. Doss in a statement posted to the organization's website. It is evident that bottled water and other relief supplies are now being distributed to Hurricane Katrina's victims through official channels. Taking the initiative prior to the storm making landfall and into the foreseeable future, IBWA and the bottled water industry continue to produce, coordinate, and distribute critical bottled water supplies; both directly to affected communities throughout the region and through official relief agencies and organizations such as FEMA, the American Red Cross and others...
In related news, see:
-- "Bottled Water Industry Provides Assistance to Hurricane Stricken Region: Millions of Bottles Donated to Hurricane Katrina Victims" -- (Sept. 2, 2005)...
-- "What IBWA Is Doing: Donations & Relief Services"

• Two More Anheuser-Busch Breweries Join Hurricane Relief; Drinking Water Donations Pass 4 Million Cans -- ST. LOUIS, Sept. 7, 2005 -- Anheuser-Busch announced that its breweries in Fort Collins, Colo., and Jacksonville, Fla., are joining the company's ongoing effort to package and deliver millions of cans of safe drinking water for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Both breweries will devote a portion of their capacity to canning drinking water this week, following earlier production runs at the Cartersville, Ga. and Houston breweries. The water is being delivered to victims and relief workers throughout the Gulf Coast region. In some cases, teams of drivers are working together to keep over-the-road trucks rolling non-stop to the stricken area...

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For an earlier hurricane relief report, see: After Katrina: ITT Industries offers funds, critical material to aid hurricane relief efforts (Sept. 7, 2005) -- Equipment available to remove flood waters, provide safe drinking water, assist search and rescue. The company's Royce Technologies unit in East New Orleans, is likely to relocate temporarily. Meanwhile, the EPA and HHC have warned about contaminated floodwaters there, but have eased up on boil water alerts in surrounding parishes and other areas. A new, $15 million pipe factory in Gulfport also has delayed an opening scheduled for later this month...

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