Hurricane crisis brings out the best in response efforts

After two consecutive years of record flooding, many residents living in the lowest portions of the Brazos River basin felt the odds of a third year of major flooding were small until Hurricane Harvey bore down on the Texas coast.

While residents began the debate whether to evacuate or hunker down and ride out the storm, Brazos River Authority staff activated emergency management plans to ensure that wastewater treatment services in the cities of Sugar Land and Clute would continue to serve those who stayed behind and be available when everyone returned.

BRA staff at the Clute/Richwood Regional Sewerage System in Brazoria County and the Sugar Land Regional Sewerage System in Fort Bend County shuttered plant windows, stocked up on operating essentials, food, cots and gasoline for backup generators. And, as traffic heavy with hurricane evacuees moved steadily northward, BRA emergency management staff and additional wastewater backup staff from locations in the Central Brazos basin headed south and waited for Harvey to arrive.

Jay Middleton, regional wastewater operations superintendent, said the BRA’s response was based on carrying out a plan long in place, as well as lessons learned from major flood events in both 2015 and 2016. He added that before any expected storm arrives, plant facilities are prepared to operate for the longest time possible until resupply of chemicals and other materials is needed. Middleton said each of the plant facilities is also equipped with emergency generators. “If power was lost, we were equipped to maintain 100 percent treatment capacity,” he said.

“When hurricanes are expected to hit the Texas coast, we have a standard operating procedure that is set in motion,” Middleton said. “This includes topping off all chemical tanks, filling all vehicles and gas cans, securing the facilities by tying down all material that can be carried off by high winds, and purchasing provisions to be kept at the plants if employees get stranded at the facilities by high water or downed power lines.”

Middleton added that during a storm, operational changes must be made as needed, requiring continuous staffing and operational changes to maintain the facility and chemical feed systems to avoid adverse public health issues caused by raw sewage flowing outside the plant. This requirement meant all staff must remain at the plant as their families hunkered down at home or evacuated.

“In Sugar Land, we asked our staff to man the facilities 24-hours-a-day until the storm passed,” Middleton said. “We needed two people to man each facility for safety purposes. All of our employees stayed at the facilities for six and a half days.”

“In Clute, we didn’t have enough local staff to man the facility 24/7, so we requested that staff from plants in the BRA’s Central basin travel down to Clute before the storm hit and work with our regular staff,” Middleton said. “We had several Central basin staff that stayed at the plant and the local staff switched to 12-hour rotating shifts for the storm’s duration.”

As with the best-laid plans, adjustments had to be made during the response efforts.

“Not knowing how much rain to expect, the staff did a good job purchasing enough food and supplies, but the rain was heavier than expected and they had to go resupply around day four,” Middleton said.

The Sugar Land facilities received near-record flows into the plant. But for an aggressive preventive maintenance program, the facilities might not have been able to manage the amount of water that flowed through the facilities.

“Throughout the year, the staff at the Sugar Land facilities follow a scheduled maintenance plan,” said Donald Malovets, regional maintenance superintendent for the BRA. “We pull pumps on a routine basis, inspect for wear and blockages, we do infrared testing on all of the electrical panels throughout the facilities to identify problems upfront. Knowing that everything works and should work makes you feel confident about being able to do your job, and staying on top of issues during the year allows you to be successful when the weather turns bad.”

The BRA staffs dedication earned appreciation from the cities they serve, as well as their fellow employees.

“The cities are very pleased with our storm response and reporting, and we can’t express enough how proud we are of the people down south that worked through the storm,” Middleton said. “They are very dedicated to the profession and are an asset to our organization. This was a great sacrifice for our employees who were also worried about their families and their homes. We are very appreciative of their dedication to their community and their jobs.”

Among those helping with emergency operations were Steve Vaughan, BRA’s emergency safety compliance program manager, and Don Naylor, safety and education coordinator. As part of the Emergency Command Center in Fort Bend County, the two served as liaisons between the BRA and command operations staff, working 12-hour shifts throughout the hurricane to assist in keeping officials and BRA command informed on plant status as the storm threatened local services.

While Fort Bend County and Brazoria County did not receive the brunt of the hurricane’s wrath, compared to some areas of the coast, Vaughan said the resources were in place and emergency operations staff and employees of the BRA were prepared to deal with whatever the situation required.

“It was nip and tuck for a couple of nights, but realistically speaking we were very fortunate in Sugar Land and Brazoria County,” Vaughan said. “We dodged a bullet, and things were not as bad as they could have been. But, our job was to support our customers, citizens, and personnel in any way necessary, and we are proud that our people stepped up and performed well in response to the challenge.”