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Brookside Levee exercise in Wilkes-Barre

WBFD and DPW workers practiced installing a portable section of a levee that protects 280 homes and businesses in the event of a flooded Susquehanna River.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — There's a hidden space inside a levee near the Brookside section of Wilkes-Barre. It stores a vital piece of public safety equipment that gives people who live nearby peace of mind.

"Lots of comfort because since they put that dike up," says Alexander Alexy, who has lived in this part of the city for 75 years. He says photos of his parents and grandparents can be seen in history books about the flood of 1972, standing on the roofs of their home. 

Alexy says this levee calms any concerns of that happening again. "And that takes care of the whole thing so far. Thank God for that."

Inside the storage unit is a portable section of the levee. The metal pieces here complete the permanent levee across North Washington Street.

"The last time it was officially erected to prevent flooding was when Hurricane Irene and Lee hit in 2011. But as a protocol about every other year, we practice with it," explained Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney.

First, crews have to put in metal anchors that fit into the slots in the roadway. That's where they ran into a bit of a blockage.

"As you saw, there were a couple of bumps in the road today in the installation process," said the chief, but he says that's exactly why an exercise like this is necessary.

"We practice putting it up, erecting it, evaluating our firefighters and our DPW workers with their skill set, and evaluating the equipment to make sure everything works," added Delaney.

After the anchors are in place, three metal beams are placed across, and then panels are hooked onto the beams. Then a tarp is placed over the top and secured with sandbags. 

It took DPW workers and firefighters about 40 minutes to put this levee up, and it protects the 280 homes and businesses here in the Brookside section of Wilkes Barre.

"We watch the river. We know that Brookside or Hollenbeck Park area floods from the river AT about 31 feet. So we watch all that data, and we have some time to install this so many times we put it proactively," added Delaney.

"See, when the water started coming down, the first place it would hit was right down here. This would get flooded first and then go into Brookside," added Alexy.

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