Susquehanna River not cresting high enough to warrant full levee activation | Dallas Post

The Wyoming Valley Levee System won’t have to be fully activated due to this week’s steady rain, Luzerne County officials said Wednesday.

The latest hydrograph projects the Susquehanna River will crest at just under 22 feet on Friday morning, said county Christopher Belleman, executive director of the county Flood Protection Authority that oversees the levee.

For background, the river forecast would have to be above 30 feet to start preparing the Market Street Bridge flood gates, he said.

In response to the rising river, authority workers are installing flood gates at the pedestrian opening in the flood wall along Riverside Drive in South Wilkes-Barre, he said.

All 13 levee pump stations will be activated, Belleman said. These stations have deep water wells to collect drainage from the land side of the levee when it can no longer naturally feed into the Susquehanna. The pumps lift the collected water up over the levee wall and dump it onto concrete aprons into the Susquehanna.

In addition, sluice gates will be closed to stop rising river water from backing up onto properties on the levee-protected side, he said.

Gates have been up since December at both levee portal openings along the River Common in Wilkes-Barre.

Closing of the pedestrian gate and portals are meant as a safety precaution to discourage the public from going near the water’s edge, Belleman reiterated.

Flood authority Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said this approach makes sense to prevent the public from unknowingly encountering high water.

“We keep the portals closed as a matter of safety so people don’t wander down to the river,” Yannuzzi said.

Belleman said he expects the portals will be reopened by mid- to late April and then closed, if needed, due to flooding threats.

He does not anticipate further actions due to this week’s rain.

“Hopefully that’s it for the flood preparation, but, of course, we will continue to monitor it,” he said.

A flood watch is in effect until Thursday evening for the county, according to the National Weather Service. Excessive runoff may result in flooding of creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations, it said.

The county’s Emergency Management Agency has notified all local EMA coordinators about the Susquehanna crest and potential for creek and stream flooding, said Charles Krommes, the agency’s emergency management planner.

“We asked them to be aware and monitor and let us know if they see anything unusual,” Krommes said.