The problem with atmospheric rivers
Earlier this winter, as water pooled outside the entrance to the 240 building, council opted to rent a pump to help drain away the excess water to avoid the possibility of it reaching the building.
With the current “atmospheric river event” in full swing today, water again began pooling outside the entrance of 240. I notified the council VP (disclaimer: The council VP is also my partner, so I’m allowed 24/7 access, heh) and he directed me to do two things (he was at work and not able to directly assist):
- Use a mattock to dig around a small perforated pipe adjacent to the right planter outside 240 (as you look toward the building). This would provide some flow for the water and prevent flooding.
- Purchase a pump similar to the one used in the previous water pooling, so council would always have one on hand in the event of an emergency.
I went to Princess Auto on foot and let me tell you, some of the puddles I encountered were big enough that the vehicles plowing through them were kicking up waves the size of a small house. It wouldn’t have mattered much in terms of getting wet, because the rain was continuous all day, just varying in intensity. I got thoroughly soaked, but got the pump!
I checked on the water level after returning and digging around the perforated pipe had allowed enough water to drain away to allow direct access to the building entrance, rather than having to approach from the sides to avoid the mega-puddle.
The pump was set up and in a short time it drained away the rest of the water. Council will continue to monitor the water levels tomorrow as the atmospheric river winds down.
I’ll talk a bit about a permanent solution to the issue below (and why it’s happening).
Some photos:
Why is this happening?
The 240 and 244 buildings both suffer the same issue–inadequate drainage. The 240 building, in particular, has no real drains at all around the entrance, so when we get a very intense amount of rain in a short period of time, it starts pooling up.
The same thing has happened with the 244 building. I took to referring to the giant puddle that would form in front of the entrance as “Lake Copperstone.” Previous councils apparently talked about looking into doing something about this, but nothing ever happened. Council VP Jeff took it upon himself to provide better drainage for the 244 entrance on his own, before he was on council, and now pooling is much less severe there than it used to be. But the main problem remains: When there’s a lot of water in a short span of time, it has nowhere to go.
What’s the long-term solution?
Phase 2 of the membrane project should provide a permanent fix to this. As with Phase 1, new drains will be added in areas where it makes sense. For the water pooling issue, the ideal location of new drains will be between the planters in front of both buildings, with the paving stones gently sloping toward the drains to allow the water to naturally flow into them and away from the entrances. This work will be relatively easy to facilitate, because the affected areas will be open/exposed due to the Phase 2 construction. I do not know of an ETA on Phase 2, but it will likely happen as soon as it is feasible.
