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Rebuilding and Restoring in the Aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina
Gulf Water
Clean-Up and Infrastructure Rebuilds Face the Water Industry Moving Forward
By
Ann-Marie Fleming,
www.Water-Stocks.com
September 2005
As
the clean up and recovery of the Louisiana area continues, focus surrounds
the region’s water systems that had been shut down, damaged and contaminated
as a result of Hurricane Katrina. As the toxic water is being pumped out of
New Orleans, the industry and the nation faces many issues as it moves
forward. While much remains uncertain in terms of the full impacts that
Katrina has had on the water industry, concerns regarding environmental
contamination, rebuilding of the regions’ infrastructure and future measures
towards prevention have many insiders evaluating the direction of the water
sector.
Preliminary efforts at assessing the impact of this disaster point towards
the area of water infrastructure, according to Neil Berlant, First Vice
President and Managing Director - Water Group, The Seidler Companies. “We
are under-invested in infrastructure and rebuilding deteriorating
infrastructure and this catastrophe heightened that awareness,” stated
Berlant.
As
described by Bjorn von Euler, ITT Industries, the first wave of industry
response involves dewatering efforts, which are currently taking place, with
the second wave being realized in the upcoming need for re-construction.
According to Mr. von Euler, this phase will involve, “Getting power and a
safe water supply running; cleaning the area and plants from contamination
of salt water and chemicals; the assessment of damage and new plans for the
city. New infrastructure will be needed; new construction of buildings,
homes, roads and so on. This will take many years.”
An area of
infrastructure that has yet to be fully evaluated is the potential damage
undertaken by the area’s roadway systems that have in large part been
submersed under water for an extended length of time. As William Brennan,
Managing Director & Senior Portfolio Manager at Boenning & Scattergood
explains. “Road buckling caused by water submersion for over a month has not
truly been addressed as one of the consequences of Katrina. This is a
perfect opportunity for local, state and federal governments to step in and
take a close look. Instead of digging up and laying a new road
infrastructure, this would be a perfect opportunity for them to take a long
inspection period in order to determine if we are going to rebuild and how
we are going to rebuild. This is the perfect time during which the water
issues in these specific areas should be addressed.”
As the repair efforts
take place and opportunities to learn from the events present themselves,
the need for improved planning has become a priority moving forward. William
Prince, CEO of Integrated Environmental Technologies, Inc. describes, “The
environmental problems that we face during disasters point out the need for
better planning. We cannot avoid these catastrophes, we can only deal with
them, so planning from an environmentally responsible perspective, taking
into consideration the long term effects versus short term solutions, is
vital for recovery success and the avoidance of compounding damage. This
responsible attitude towards planning includes a focus on the quality of
water, not just the quantity and availability.”
Industry
Relief Efforts:
As
the damage and destruction left in Katrina’s wake is being assessed, the
costs associated with relief, and repair efforts continue to grow. Many
industry participants, however, are answering the region’s call for help
with financial assistance as well as through the provision of key water
equipment.
In
response to the relief and recovery efforts, Pentair Inc., is making pump
and filtration equipment available to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state organizations. In
a recent release Randall J. Hogan, Chairman and CEO of Pentair Inc. stated,
“Pentair is taking quick action to make pump and filtration equipment and
the necessary technical expertise available to agencies supporting disaster
relief efforts.”
Hughes Supply, Inc. has contributed $50,000, which was split evenly between
the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, with an additional $70,000 worth of
emergency supplies pledged. Hughes’ executives have also contributed $21,500
to the Hughes Supply Family Fund, which is designed to provide assistance
for employees in urgent need. The funds will match employee contributions to
the Fund, according to a Company release.
To
date, ITT Industries Inc. has donated $250,000 to the Red Cross towards
Katrina relief efforts. “We are currently working with the contractors and
authorities in the disaster area to help with the initial dewatering
efforts. We have people and products on the ground and have shipped in 9
huge 200 Hp submersible pumps. Each of these has the capacity for moving
over 20.000 Gallons of water per minute. The combine effect per hour is
approximately 11 Million gallons,” explains Mr. von Euler.
The Road
Ahead:
Moving forward from Katrina, one area that is anticipated to gain
considerable attention entails
water quality. “With
the LT2 laws that are coming at the end of this year, you are going to see
people start to take a look at this more closely as the UV market has the
potential to grow between 10-15%. If they are going to have to adopt this
technology by 2010, then there is no better time than to do it right now,”
explains Brennan.
While many questions remain unanswered, Hurricane Katrina has raised the
awareness of how precious water is, how cheap it is and how much we depend
on it, explains Mr. Berlant. “We have all the solutions, we have ample both
capacity to provide the solutions and we have the technologies to purify all
the water to use and reuse it. It is just about answering the more crucial
question - who pays?”
The
full extent of the damage and the road to recovery is still unclear, however
many within the industry continue to look forward. As stated by von Euler,
“No doubt New Orleans
will be back - but it will probably be a very different Big Easy.”
Ann-Marie Fleming
Ann-Marie
Fleming completed her MBA in the United States, where she attended Webster
University. She also holds an Honors B.A from the University of Toronto. She
has over fifteen years of experience within the financial industry to
include retail banking and brokerage, investment banking, and mortgage
brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a firm background in
corporate research.
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