Parkersburg floodwall meets ‘minimally acceptable’ requirement with Army Corps of Engineers
A diver with Underwater Services of Nitro prepares to inspect a pipe beneath the Parkersburg floodwall near the Parkersburg Utility Board’s water treatment plant on Dec. 4. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Parkersburg City Engineer Adam Stout took this picture while inspecting the Pond Run outfall conduit beneath the floodwall in August. Inspections of six pipes were a key factor in the floodwall earning a minimally acceptable rating from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Employees of IVS Hydro in Waverly install pipe to remove water to facilitate inspection of a pipe below the Parkersburg floodwall during the first week of December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
A camera device used for televising pipes underneath the Parkersburg floodwall is shown in early December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Images transmitted from inside a pipe beneath the Parkersburg floodwall are shown on a screen in early December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
A diver with Underwater Services of Nitro prepares to inspect a pipe beneath the Parkersburg floodwall near the Parkersburg Utility Board’s water treatment plant on Dec. 4. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Parkersburg City Engineer Adam Stout took this picture while inspecting the Pond Run outfall conduit beneath the floodwall in August. Inspections of six pipes were a key factor in the floodwall earning a minimally acceptable rating from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Employees of IVS Hydro in Waverly install pipe to remove water to facilitate inspection of a pipe below the Parkersburg floodwall during the first week of December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
A camera device used for televising pipes underneath the Parkersburg floodwall is shown in early December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
Images transmitted from inside a pipe beneath the Parkersburg floodwall are shown on a screen in early December. (Photo provided by the City of Parkersburg)
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PARKERSBURG -- The city's floodwall has shed its unacceptable rating, making it once again eligible for federal assistance should it suffer major damage during a flood.
Parkersburg officials were notified earlier this month by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the nearly 70-year-old structure had received a "minimally acceptable" rating, city Engineer Adam Stout said. That's at the middle of a three-tiered scale ranging from unacceptable to acceptable, which Stout said is the equivalent of a brand-new system.
Mayor Tom Joyce said the rating doesn't mean the city will get federal funds for regular maintenance and rehabilitation.
"That program is one that would provide for repairs of failures to our floodwall during a flood event," he said.
Although Army Corps of Engineers officials agreed the floodwall system appeared to be in good working order, it carried the unacceptable rating for a number of years, due to the city's failure to meet two requirements: periodic testing of all floodwall gates and inspection of conduit pipes every five years.
The former had not been done due to concerns over blocking traffic around the 3400 block of Murdoch Avenue for a nearly two-day period. That was addressed in 2017 when city workers assembled portions of the gate for the first time since its construction in 1950 without shutting down traffic across all six lanes.
Cost had been the sticking point on inspecting six pipes traveling under the floodwall. Construction of the Belleville Locks and Dam in the '60s caused the river level to rise and put the conduits underwater. Inspections by divers were estimated to cost more than $300,000.
But the expense to get them done this year turned out to be significantly less, Stout said.
"I did three of them myself, where I could actually walk through them," he said.
Stout traversed two pipes that were about 48 and 60 inches in diameter, as well as the larger Pond Run outfall, this summer, when water levels were lower. Temporarily diverting water back to the pumphouse lowered the water further.
"I can't thank Adam enough," Joyce said. "He has gone above and beyond in carrying out that work."
The rest were addressed earlier this month.
"We spent $67,000 to get the last three done by the contractors," Stout said.
City officials are also working to get the floodwall reaccredited by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, work that started in 2013 but had not been completed as of earlier this year. The accreditation is necessary to demonstrate areas protected by the floodwall are not required to carry flood insurance.
The remaining tasks include a slope stability and seepage analysis and updating the operations manual. Along with the pipe inspection, the floodwall work has cost approximately $316,000, Joyce said.
"The floodwall serves as flood insurance for millions of square feet of occupied commercial and residential real property in the City of Parkersburg," he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.