On Aug. 27, Hurricane Harvey’s rains flooded a critical backwash pond at Houston’s smallest water plant. The water was so deep, no one could make it to the plant to help. It looked as if Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant would have to shut down—and, with it, the promise of clean drinking water for a city already besieged by so many other hardships.
But the plant’s quick-thinking manager, Drew Molly, mapped out a rescue plan based on reducing the plant’s water output. The plant maintained enough production to keep water pressure stable throughout the city, while the reduced output bought enough time for the waters to recede. With hours to spare, the scheme worked, and by Aug. 29, high-water vehicles arrived with a temporary dam and pumps.