News

Council expected to vote on Grafius Run design tonight

The City of Williamsport is preparing to design and build long-term flood mitigation of Grafius Run.

This includes possible automated trash racks and water retention ponds, discussion with Council Public Works Committee stated.

City Council is expected to vote tonight on a Grafius Run instrumentation amendment agreement with WSP Engineers for an amount of $157,632. That is the anticipated funding for design services and that would be from streets and parks general fund in the Grafius Run account.

Jon Sander, city engineer, said he put out a request for proposal to design and permit solutions for a trash rack system.

The city has two trash rack systems at the east and west inlet but they're not automated systems.

Engineer Britt Bassett described for the committee an example of a trash rack system that has debris going up a conveyor belt and it's dumped on the other side, preventing it from clogging the inlet.

Bassett noted that some of the systems that this company's done have been used in wastewater treatment plants.

The material is automatically conveyed away from the channel, and it can be put in a dumpster or put in the ground, he said.

Measures are taken so it doesn't scour out the channel by using rip rap or some other material.

Councilman Randy Allison noted the debris often is substantial, and he assumed that the specifications would be designed with equipment to handle such loads.

Cameras could be installed to monitor the debris collection and effectiveness of the system. Heavy equipment that picks out debris would remain available as backup.

Part of the consideration is to try to minimize any of the tie ups or impacts to the private property or even a nearby church property, Bassett said.

The system will be designed so that it will also take the extra water in times of heavy rain.

Councilman Vince Pulizzi was upset about the amount of non-biodegradable trash, such as tires and other debris from upstream.

"Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity," he said.

He suggested that, with the automated system proposal, there are uncaring individuals who have access to a creek like Grafius Run, and it will give them all the more reason to throw items such as tires into the water as they consider that is somebody else's problem.

He said the city needs to continue to work with Loyalsock Township and to check with the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority and the authority's role in regulation on stormwater management. Pulizzi noted that while he understood the authority manages infrastructure beneath the ground, often flood water will spill above ground on streets, impacting properties.

In addition to this amended WSA instrumentation, the engineering company is sizing those potential retention basins upstream, Sander said.

"We already have an existing contract for $60,000 for the design of those basins upstream with WSP," he said.