Joliet company sends large pumps to East Coast
By Jeanne Millsap Correspondent October 31, 2012 2:24PM
Pumps like this were sent by Rain for Rent of Joliet to help the East Coast battle flooding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. | submitted photo
Updated: December 2, 2012 2:09PM
A Joliet liquid-handling business has sent three of its largest water pumps to the upper East Coast to help with the flooding situation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Rain for Rent, a national provider of rental and temporary liquid-handling solutions with a branch on McDonald Avenue in Joliet, trucked the pumps to the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday. Each diesel-powered machine is capable of pumping 25,000 gallons per minute of water out of subway stations, tunnels, streets or wherever needed.
“They are the largest centrifugal pumps there are in the country,” branch manager Mike Zudycki said. “They are usually used for industrial applications.”
Zudycki said he believes these units are destined specifically for flooded transportation hubs. His store has helped the corps with several emergency disaster relief efforts, most recently last year with the Missouri River flooding of Omaha, Neb.
The company already had some pumps available in the New York City area, Zudycki said, and it transported other units from various other branches.
That the pumps are diesel is essential, with electricity out in much of the areas hardest hit.
Although Zudycki said he doesn’t know the exact sites where his pumps will be used, published reports said flooding in the tunnels of lower Manhattan is so serious that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked hydrologists and mechanical engineers from the Army Corps of Engineers to help drain the tunnels.
