Pumps help cleanup of Florida sites damaged by Hurricane Frances
JENSEN BEACH, FL, Sept. 16, 2004 -- While all eyes were on Hurricane Ivan as it walloped the Gulf Coast last week, residents of Florida were still recovering from Hurricane Frances, which slammed into the lower Atlantic Coast on Sept. 6, crossed the state and slid over a corner of the gulf before landing again just southwest of Tallahassee.
Hurricane Frances (see The Weather Channel) battered Florida for three days causing billions of dollars in damage. At least seven deaths were attributed to the storm and over six million people lost power. A number of municipalities were negatively impacted, including Martin County in southeast Florida and the Everglades.
Among the Martin County operations affected was the Jenson Beach Water Treatment Plant. Two of the treatment plant's four transfer pumps were damaged, severely crippling operations. But like the many Florida individuals who received a helping hand after the hurricane, so did the treatment facility in Martin County.
The Jenson facility placed an emergency call to the Flowserve Corp.'s, Taneytown, MD, plant seeking help replacing the damaged pumps. Kenn Owens, manager for vertical turbine pump products, and Emad Kronfli, manager of Taneytown's order fulfillment team, immediately reacted. They contacted the Lakeland Quick Response Center (QRC), ordering two 350 mm (14") EN-1 single-stage pumps on Sept. 7. Everyone at the Lakeland QRC pitched in to machine parts, make shafting, assemble the pumps and get them ready for delivery within one day. Representatives from the Jenson facility opted to pick up the pumps on September 9 and were extremely pleased with the service. Normal lead time for these pumps is eight weeks and the quick ship program offered through Flowserve typically offers a two-week turnaround time. "Everyone at the Lakeland facility recognized the urgency of the need and worked together for 24-hour delivery," said John Ondrejack, Flowserve Regional Manager of Water/Waste Water Sales, Southeast US/Caribbean, who is based in Boca Raton.
The Flowserve 350 mm (14 in) EN-1 vertical turbine pumps feature cast iron bowls, bronze impellers, rubber bowl bearings and 416 SS shafting throughout. They are also designed with 2415 mm (96.5 in) threaded column steel assemblies and 10W cast iron discharge heads. Owens noted that Flowserve is now standing by for any future needs of the Jenson Beach Water Treatment Plant.
In addition to emergency pump replacement for the delivery of water, existing Flowserve pump installations are providing flood relief. Hurricane Frances caused some flooding issues in the Florida Everglades watershed. But 25 pumps supplied by Flowserve during the past two years for the Everglades Restoration Project are now being used as flood control pumps. The Everglades Restoration Project was initiated by the South Florida Management District (SFMD), the state agency in charge of flood control and cleanup efforts who work in parallel with the Army Corp of Engineers. The 25 pumps helping with flood control are high volume axial flow pumps capable of pumping over 2.3 million m3/h (10 million gallons per minute). Ondrejack noted that Flowserve has offered its services in the future to the SFMD and that the Flowserve Water Resource Sales Team has notified all municipalities that they are standing by to be of assistance in any future needs in the Southeast US and Caribbean.
Flowserve Corp. (www.flowserve.com) is one of the world's leading providers of fluid motion and control products and services. Operating in 56 countries, the company produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services.
# # #