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Jul 09, 2023

Parkersburg breaks out new truck to clean storm sewers

Aug 26, 2023 City of Parkersburg medium equipment operator Steve Kuhn, right, adjusts a hose on the city’s new vactor truck as it jets water into a storm sewer Friday in the parking lot of McDonald’s

Aug 26, 2023

City of Parkersburg medium equipment operator Steve Kuhn, right, adjusts a hose on the city’s new vactor truck as it jets water into a storm sewer Friday in the parking lot of McDonald’s in the Traffic Circle. Also pictured are, from left, Superintendent of Streets and Street Cleaning J.D. Karcher, engineering technician Steve Walker and medium equipment operator Jason Miller. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — Heavy rains Friday morning prompted the City of Parkersburg to use new equipment officials hope can help them keep ahead of stormwater issues.

The $567,000 vactor truck, primarily purchased with American Rescue Plan Act funds, was delivered about a month ago. Employees have been trained in how to use it, putting it into action for the second time on Friday.

The truck jets water into a pipe to remove material that could be obstructing it and then vacuums the debris, City Engineer Adam Stout said.

Stout and Public Works Director Everett Shears noticed water standing in the parking lots of businesses in the Traffic Circle after the Friday morning rain. Before the pipes could be accessed by the truck, Street Department workers removed logs, gravel, concrete and building materials from nearby stormwater inlets, Stout said.

Friday’s rain also led to delays for some Wood County school buses whose routes crossed low-lying areas near creeks, according to Superintendent Christie Willis.

A hose from the City of Parkersburg’s new vactor truck jets water into a storm sewer pipe Friday in the parking lot of McDonald’s in the Traffic Circle. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Parkersburg’s administration and City Council placed a renewed focus on the city’s aging stormwater system in 2018, with more than $2 million allocated to storm sewer repairs and maintenance since then. When a vactor truck was needed, the city enlisted the aid of the Parkersburg Utility Board, which was reimbursed for the use of its truck and manpower.

With its own truck, “we should be able to do more stormwater cleaning in-house,” Stout said.

Ideally, he would like to have the truck out every day working in different areas of the city, but there’s not enough manpower for that right now, Stout said.

The first use of the vactor truck was at the city’s underground stormwater retention system on 20th Street. Someone had apparently been dumping grass clippings into a nearby inlet for some time, and the truck was used to remove a large amount that had settled in the storage area, Stout said.

“It was 7 feet deep, full of grass,” he said.

City of Parkersburg Street Department workers are shown removing debris from storm sewer inlets in the Traffic Circle area Friday morning after heavy rain. (Photo Provided)

Evan Bevins can be reached at [email protected].

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