In recent months the country has experienced a high amount of rain resulting in flooding. Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss. Over a ten year period, floods cost the Nation, on average, $3.7 billion annually.1 On top of this, about 850 water main breaks occur daily in North America causing many millions of dollars in damage.2 Statistically, floods and water main breaks can strike at any time and often without warning, resulting in ingress of water into low pressure gas mains and service lines causing disruptions to supply. It also extinguishes pilot lights potentially leading to filling a building with gas. So it is imperative to respond to these situations at a moment notice to prevent disaster and to work to reinstate customers who rely on an uninterrupted safe gas supply to heat their homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.

Preparation for these kinds of events means having the proper tool on hand to readily evacuate the water from a service or a main. For example, in recent news, on August 12, 2011 a water main ruptured in the Harlem section of New York at St. Nicholas Avenue and West 152nd Street undermining the soil around a gas main causing it to break. The water main dumped thousands of gallons of water into the gas main causing over 8,000 customers to be without gas. An emergency response by Consolidated Edison required 250 employees to work around the clock eventually pumping out 22,000 gallons of water out of the lines to reinstate the gas services.3 On the Friday afternoon of the event, a Con Edison employee called PLCS to order two PLCS Gas-Vac Service Water Removal Systems to help with the water pumping effort. PLCS responded instantly and delivered them to the job site that same night. Given the unit's successful field use during the emergency, Con Edison purchased a total of 10 PLCS Gas-Vac Service Systems this year.

Gas-Vac Service

For common blockages, PLCS offers two portable Gas-Free* Gas-Vac Systems; one for Services and one for Mains water removal. Both are complete with deflagration assemblies that quickly connect onto service risers or main drips. The systems utilize a lightweight hand held Venturi gun to suck out the trapped water in minutes powered by an

Gas-Vac Mains

on-site compressor or nitrogen bottle. The water is conveniently discharged into a vented storage container making for safe environmental disposal. A clear pipe section located near the Venturi gun connection allows the operator to see when all the water has been removed. The Gas-Vac Service and Mains Water Removal Systems are an inexpensive, safe and efficient way to get the customer quickly back online.

For more information about the PLCS Gas-Vac Water Removal Systems please click on the following link http://www.plcsusa.com/water_removal.html.

1 http://www.state.nj.us/emergency/flood/flood.html

2 http://www.watermainbreakclock.com/

3 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/nyregion/with-gas-out-in-harlem-days-of-takeout-and-cold-baths.html ; http://www.dnainfo.com/20110822/harlem/con-edison-restores-gas-8200-customers-harlem 

*In a controlled gas environment