Closure structures will be set up at three Wyoming Valley Levee system openings in Wilkes-Barre by late Monday afternoon, but the levee overseer said the public should not panic.
Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman said the closures are meant as a safety measure to discourage the public from going near the Susquehanna River.
“We’re trying to keep people away from the high water. We try to eliminate that when possible,” Belleman said. “We’re not expecting flooding.”
Flood gates will be installed at the two portal openings along the River Common and the pedestrian opening in the flood wall along Riverside Drive in South Wilkes-Barre, he said.
All 13 levee pump stations also have been 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 have been closed, he said. These gates stop rising river water from backing up into nearby properties.
The latest predictions indicate the river will crest at 26 feet Tuesday evening, he said.
The river would have to be approaching 34 feet to warrant closure of the Market Street Bridge flood gates, he said.
“We’re not close to that,” Belleman said. “We’ll continue to monitor the river, and if things get worse, we will take further steps,” Belleman said.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
