How many wastewater utilities can handle 51 inches of rain in 72 hours?
Probably none. But that’s what challenged the Houston Wastewater Operations service line when Hurricane Harvey drenched South Texas in late August 2017.
The devastating results:
18 of 39 Houston wastewater treatment plants underwater
Electrical circuits and equipment completely soaked
30 percent of the collections system totally flooded for nearly a week
81 lift stations completely submerged
And a nonpressurized sewer system turned into a pressurized system by the storm, breaking pipes and joints.
“I’ve been through hurricane winds and hurricane floods before,” says Shannon Dunne, Houston Wastewater’s senior
