A mitigation project in hardy, AR has helped the community prevent from their sewer system to fail in case of a flooding.
This new technology helps the city focus their efforts in other areas.

Nina Thornton
Mayor City of Hardy, AR
I���ve talked to the national weather service and the water is expected to go to 12 feet so, are going to start shutting down the pumps is that we do a at 12 feet isn���t ?

We knew we had to do something so when it was declared a disaster for the state of Arkansas they came to write our PW���s and everything and we asked them. Was there anything that can be done to help us in this area because it was an ongoing situation constantly because the river does get up several times a year sometimes, but recently its been worst than ever. We got mitigation money to the tune of  $526,000 we put in all new pumps we raided our electrical we put in submersible pumps, and we put in the system that our superintendent can get in here on his computer and he can turn those pumps on and off.

Billy Gilbreath
Superintendent Public Works
Hardy, AR
It works great, we had two floods since it was mitigated and all I have to do now is, we have a us gs site on the river, I call it, it tells me what the height of the river is when it gets to a certain point I go and I get on the computer or on my cell phone and I turn my pump stations off.
What I had to do in the past I was doing the same thing we had to take a boat or something like that to get in harms way to go out and turn the power to these pump sites.

Nina Thornton
Mayor City of Hardy, AR
Now that is mitigated none of that happens I mean its all, you just turn it off when it comes time to come back on you know you just flip them back on and they work 

Billy Gilbreath
Superintendent Public Works
Hardy, AR
This is helped the city because it free us up to do other things that we was having to do an hour and a half every morning every day 365 a year someone was having to do this, and now I can do it in just five minutes on the internet.

 Nina Thornton
Mayor City of Hardy, AR
We can get the people out, get their cars, but we certainly we cant take out our sewer systems you know and that���s the only place it is because, that we can put it, it cant be anywhere else, and this is the perfect solution.

For more information visit
www.fema.gov
www.fema.gov/arkansas09