Rainstorms on Jan. 3 of this year, as well as much rainfall since, have put significant strain on Delta’s water drainage systems. This strain has led to a pipe burst in the Budd building, leading to flooding in the men’s locker room.
On Feb. 21, the Delta College Board of Trustees addressed future construction as a result of the flooding on Budd’s second floor.
“The project will consist of the removal of the concrete, the wooden deck, and planters; repair of any damaged decking and drainage; pouring new concrete, and extension of the third-floor brick stairs to the second-floor deck. In addition, complete repairs to the ceiling in the Men’s Locker Room,” reads the agenda item.
“The project that was approved was to replace the 2nd floor walking deck to stop the leaking onto the first floor, Said Stacy Pinola, Director of Facilities Management & Operations. “The Facilities Department will be doing a similar project to the fourth floor deck during the summer. Once these projects are completed, the contractors can complete the repairs work in the various classrooms and offices from the winter storms.”
The board approves the construction by CNW Construction at its Feb. 21 meeting. The base bid for the total project amount was $1,998,000; this includes a $200,000 allowance and $100,000 contingency for any unforeseen conditions.
“The major source of flooding was due to the fact our drainage system was not designed to handle the volume of water from the storms,” the agenda item read.
“The campus was overwhelmed with water from the storms, which received 11” of rain in just a few weeks. We are working diligently to find solutions to areas that flood on a regular basis,” said Pinola.
California has been in a drought for years and has been hit with one of its biggest rainy seasons over this past winter. This kind of weather can be a lot for an older storm drainage system.
According to Delta’s Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP), which was published in June 2017, the wet utility site infrastructures on campus are nearly 50 years old, but in fairly good shape, with the storm water drainage systems needing the most attention.
“Perhaps the biggest changes with regard to the future upgrades of wet utilities will be the need for a more comprehensive collection and filtration system for storm water drainage,” said the CMP.
The campus drainage system was not built for the strain that recent storms have put upon it.
“The majority of the campus storm drain systems predate current stormwater requirements, and are therefore allowed to discharge into the City of Stockton stormwater systems without any detention or treatment measures. New construction should utilize current low-impact design strategies to minimize stormwater discharge, and may be required to implement certain water quality measures as required by the City of Stockton.”
Delta’s drainage system/ wet utilities site infrastructure is not in need of a full makeover, but partial fixes seem to be becoming more common.
“Based upon our analysis, a system-wide modernization the wet utility system is not warranted at this time; however, due to the overall age of the system, there may be periods of increased maintenance,” said the CMP.