The Wyoming Valley Levee overseer is seeking $962,000 in funding to restore large stone stabilizing rip-rap along parts of the Susquehanna River flood control system.
“There are several locations along the levee system where rip-rap is missing, leaving the slopes vulnerable to erosion over time,” Laura Holbrook, Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority executive director, said Monday.
Holbrook emphasized the stability of the levee is not at risk in the areas.
The work is part of proactive maintenance and had been under discussion before a recent, more urgent project to stop erosion that threatened the levee in Wilkes-Barre, she said.
Soil and rock were sliding downhill at that site near Norfolk Southern’s Black Diamond railroad bridge.
Granville Summit, Pennsylvania-based DGR Excavating LLC was retained to scoop out dirt and rebuild the bank with stone. The project cost about $736,500, including estimated engineering and surveying expenses.
The authority board is set to vote Tuesday on submission of a $962,000 Statewide Local Share Account (LSA) grant request from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to address missing stone in four levee areas.
Holbrook said the following levee locations warrant reinforcement:
• Upstream and downstream of the Carey Avenue Bridge in Hanover Township.
• Downstream of the Hanover Township boat launch.
• The basin area where Coal Creek passes through a pipe in the levee in Plymouth.
• Near the Black Diamond Bridge in Wilkes-Barre downstream of the section addressed in the recent project.
Rocks placed at these sites decades ago are now largely covered by sediment, and some may have been washed away, Holbrook said.
The project would excavate these areas and add a bedding of stone topped with a mix of larger rocks, both new ones and any that had been buried, she said.
If the casino-gambling LSA funds are awarded, the project could be designed and tackled in 2028, she said.
Holbrook said two levee projects are planned for 2027 — relief well rehabilitation and a levee pipe penetration inspection.
Relief wells resemble trash cans above ground along the levee. They serve as valves to relieve water pressure that could compromise the flood control system.
Pipe inspections are regularly required to comply with a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mandate to keep the levee certified.
Officials have said approximately 170 pipes of varying dimensions run through the levee system.
The levee system protects approximately 100,000 residents in 12 municipalities.