COAL TOWNSHIP - Thanks to students at the Northumberland County Career and Technology Center, basement flooding in one Shamokin neighborhood should be a thing of the past.
Students in William Bradley's welding class recently constructed a steel device that can lower a plate across a 16-inch drainage pipe that routinely back-flows Shamokin Creek into homes.
The pipe's outflow is at Rock and Spruce streets in the Fifth Ward, just a few feet upstream from Patsy's Bridge. The location of the pipe, just inches above the creek at normal flow, has caused several flooding problems for residents connected to the line.
Made to order
The device was made for the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority, which requested assistance from the school.
Students welded, drilled and painted the steel device, which stands about 5 feet tall. With the exception of the pulley that lowers the plate, the device was made entirely by the students, with a total of 35 man-hours spent on the project.
"It was made to order. Students learn a whole lot from that. It's the kind of stuff you do because it's a necessity," Bradley said. "Some students were involved a little bit, while some were involved a whole lot."
Flood revealed issue
According to Keith Jeremiah, authority uptown construction foreman, the pipe's intake is located near a set of railroad tracks near Harrison and Spruce streets, four blocks from the creek. Water from a small abandoned mine discharge, mountain runoff flow and several homes flow into the line that runs underneath Spruce Street.
"We think the flooding happened for years, but we weren't aware of it until after the Flood (of 2011). The Mayor (George Rozinskie) approached us to find a system to prevent the flooding," Jeremiah said. "The pipe was installed a long time ago. Because of the terrain, the only other solution would be to extend the pipe all the way to the Rescue Fire Company."
The authority recently installed the device in a 6-by-6-foot wet-well, or concrete box, near the pipe's outflow. It is accessible by a grate that will be locked to prevent tampering.
Creek up, plate down
Jeremiah said the device's plate will be lowered when Shamokin Creek overtakes the pipe. An agreement has been made with the Friendship Fire Company to pump the water out of the wet-well and over an existing flood wall to keep water in the pipe moving, he added.
"Every time the creek rises, they are screwed," Jeremiah said of the residents. "Hopefully, this should solve the problem."
Jeremiah thanked the students for their efforts. He said their hard work has saved the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority approximately $5,000.