Seriously, were there problems with the pumps in New Orleans in the 1970’s

May 3rd flood says hello.

There were problems with the pumps during the 1927 flood.

They can handle 2 inches in the first hour and 1 inch per hour afterward. Sometimes you get more rain than that.

But outright not working began with Fredo (Mitch) as far as I know.

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Did the pumps ever work?

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Half the pumps are driven by electric 6,000V 25Hz motors and switchgear that were designed and installed before electric frequency was standardized at 60Hz in North America. To this day they have a bunch of broken down trashed rotary and static frequency converters. Their infrastructure is in ruins and is poorly managed. Money designated for redesign and new gear goes into the pockets of the politicians brothers in law who own engineering firms and specialty contractors which then grease the hands of the politicians.

For any of the PT electrical workers who have progressed beyond handling mule tape and whale jizz, try to get a job walk. Your mind would be blown at the old shite they have there, especially at the stuff that is still in operation.

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We weren’t dealing with climate change back then

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Yes we were, we were all on pins and needles listening to the experts warning us about global cooling.

because in the 70s they thought we were headed for a little ice age.

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They can handle 2 inches in the first hour and 1 inch per hour afterward. Sometimes you get more rain than that.

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That’s a little generous, actually the drainage system in New Orleans is designed to handle 1 inch of rainfall in the first hour, followed by 0.5 inches of rain per hour for subsequent hours. 

It is important to note a few key factors regarding these figures:

Design Limitations: This capacity reflects the system's design standards rather than a guaranteed limit. Because the system relies on gravity to move water into the underground canals and pipes before it can reach the pumps, intense rainstorms that exceed these rates often outpace the system's ability to drain, leading to temporary street flooding. 

System Dependence: The actual performance of the pumps depends heavily on several operational factors, including the availability of power (which has historically involved older, specialized turbine systems), the operational status of the individual pumps, and whether the drainage basins are empty at the start of a rain event. 

Total Capacity: Collectively, the city's extensive network of pumping stations is capable of moving water at a rate of more than 45,000 cubic feet per second. The "workhorse" drainage pumps themselves can be massive, with some capable of moving approximately 1,100 cubic feet of water per second each.

Hasn’t the rule of thumb always been the pumps can handle an inch an hour. It easily rained 5 inches over mid City over a 2 hour period this afternoon. My street was flooded for about until around 3:30