The Wood Screw Pump is a low-lift axial-flow drainage pump designed by

A. Baldwin Wood Albert Baldwin Wood (December 1, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an inventor and engineer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1899. Wood was hired by the Sewerage & Water Bo ...

in 1913 to cope with the drainage problems of New Orleans. Wood's extremely efficient pumps replaced less efficient pumps in the city's drainage system, prior to which the city had experienced chronic flooding problems, bringing diseases such as malaria and yellow fever together with contamination of drinking water supplies. The pumps are driven by synchronous Allis-Chalmers and General Electric motors, built in the early 1900s. They were designed to lift a large volume of water into outfall canals from which the water flowed into Lake Pontchartrain. Having proved their operational efficiency in New Orleans, people around the world wanted Wood to make pumps for them, especially the Netherlands. Wood rejected all countries that asked as he refused to leave Louisiana. Until the arrival of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, the pumps had kept much of New Orleans from experiencing major inundation for nearly 100 years. http://www.asme.org/Communities/History/Landmarks/AB_Wood_Screw_Pump_1914.cfm 1974 article on the Wood Screw Pump] by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

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