A year after rising floodwaters battered the levees along the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is gearing up to repair the damage.
The Army Corps actually started the repair job last month by replacing four relief wells along a levee in Wilkes-Barre. More significant repair work to fix sand boils, cracks in concrete and damaged flood gates will start after contracts from bids are awarded by the end of the month, Army Corps spokesman Christopher J. Augsburger said.
A week after last year's flood, the Army Corps determined damage to the 15-mile levee system was minor and the levees could still hold back floodwaters. The federal government is providing all funding for the repairs, which are expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million.
"All relief wells are installed and in working condition," Augsburger said.
The levee system currently has 128 relief wells. A relief well allows for the orderly discharge of seep water through a controlled mechanism without the displacement of material from under the levee.
"Efforts on the levee will be complete by the end of March 2013, if not sooner," Augsburger said.
The flood put intense pressure on the levees, and the stress caused some damage and forced emergency reinforcement measures to stop water from seeping underneath. Various county employees were involved in "flood fighting," which cost about $200,000 in wages and equipment, said Jim Brozena, director of the county flood protection authority.
The flood authority is seeking reimbursements of the "flood fighting" cost from Tropical Storm Lee disaster assistance. The authority expects to get almost $600,000 in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to cover costs of the emergency response, clean-up efforts and property repairs.
The authority has received $240,000 in reimbursements to date, including $10,000 to cover the cost of repairing the fountain in the River Common recreation area, Brozena said.
The floodwaters damaged the lighting system along the pedestrian trail atop levees in Kirby Park and Nesbitt Park, Brozena said. Those repairs will cost about $100,000.
Some of the disaster assistance provided to the flood authority is going to the county to cover county personnel costs. The county is also expecting about $1 million in Lee disaster reimbursements to pay for repairs to two county bridges - one in Lake Township and the other in New Columbus, Luzerne County engineer Joe Gibbons said.
Repairs to damaged county properties along the river, including the courthouse, parkade and domestic relations building, cost more than $750,000, Gibbons said. The county is waiting to see how much flood insurance policies will provide, and the balance will come from disaster assistance, Gibbons said, adding that property insurance coverage provided $115,000.
"I requested the meeting because I wasn't getting any reimbursements," he said. "It's like pulling teeth. You need to keep good records. I have it spelled out on spreadsheets."
Repairing damages associated with the county redevelopment authority's office building on Luzerne Avenue in West Pittston exceeded $750,000. Flood insurance provided about $440,000, and the balance will come from disaster assistance, said Andrew Reilly, director of the county office of community development and the redevelopment authority director.
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