Freezing temperatures during the record-breaking February cold storm that hit much of the South caused pipes to burst and left residents without clean drinking water, reported a press release. Even further, COVID-19 had already caused shortages in the supply chain and plumbing materials needed for repairs were limited. Licensed plumbers in the Austin area were also in short supply. The first day of the storm, Austin’s 27 plumbers were flooded with over 1000 emergency requests.
In response to the Texas crisis, Water Mission implemented a plan to support rebuilding efforts by mobilizing skilled plumbers and setting up and stocking a Plumber's Store in Austin with needed supplies, according to the press release. These supplies would then be readily available for repairing water lines in homes and water stations.
As news of the storm damage spread, Chris Blumer, GF’s head region South America, was contacted by Water Mission to see how GF could help Texas. Upon learning about the Plumber Store plan, GF jumped in to provide plumbing parts to help stock it.
Darryl Edwards, GF’s national accounts manager for Vinyls in Atlanta, Georgia contacted Rogers Hook, strategic partnership director at Water Mission to coordinate details and put the project in motion.
The Little Rock team loaded up a truck with small diameter pipe and fittings that included: 1,600 Schedule 80 PVC tees, unions, couplings, adaptors, and reducer bushing parts in sizes ranging from ½, 1, 1-1/2 and 2 inches. 5,500 feet, 20 feet lengths of Schedule 80 PVC pipe in corresponding pipe sizes were also packed. The entire load was shipped to Austin, Texas.
There, the shipment was unloaded to the Plumber Store where a small army of volunteer plumbers could quickly access the parts to make water line repairs. As of mid-March, this relief effort contacted over 500 households and assisted repairing water lines to over 233 of them. A small army of 39 volunteer plumbers from 19 states worked 11 hours a day, five days a week to help people in need of clean water, added the press release.
For more about GF’s involvement with support of clean water, visit www.cleanwater.ch.
