Maintenance

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.

Well, not that mighty. With the windstorm that blew through last night, some branches from the courtyard trees came down. Jeff and I took a saw to the largest and cut it into pieces, depositing them with the ex-birch tree. The branch pile will be cleaned up when a new landscaping contract is signed.

On February 26, Jeff and I began the task of cleaning the stairs leading up to the hospital path and lane. The stairs had been closed for about five months due to construction related to Phase 1 of the membrane project and had gathered a lot of grunge, debris and plant detritus.

I began with the first task–pulling out all the vine growth that had spread over the top stairs and landing. Fortunately, they are dry right now, so it wasn’t difficult to gather them and squish them into my litter bucket for disposal. After doing this, I did a sweep of remaining loose debris on the steps and landing.

The stairs after initial sweep. Better, but not great.

We then took turns power washing the first two sets of stairs and the landing that connects them.

The stairs, after power washing:

The landing after washing:

By comparison, one of the areas we have yet to get to:

We hope to get the whole staircase done soon. It’s amazing what some TLC does for the look of the property!

Jeff power-washed the stone cladding around the main Copperstone sign again. This was last done in September, showing how quickly moss can grow back on an untreated surface. He also began washing down the nearby sidewalk, which has taken to growing a bit of moss as well.

Here’s a shot showing a section of sidewalk after power-washing, with an untouched section farther up.

The stone cladding around the Copperstone sign is moss-free–again!

Council Vice President Jeff has finished power-washing the stairs and walk leading to Allen Street, on the south side of the 244 building.

You can see how much dirt had built up over the years in this in-progress shot of the work:

And the same wall after cleaning was complete:

I don’t have a before shot of the stairs, but here’s how they looked after cleaning:

(Jeff does the power-washing on his own time and at his own expense, so it doesn’t take away from his duties as a member of Copperstone Council.)