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<p>At first glance, the approximately 120 relief wells along the Wyoming Valley Levee system may seem insignificant.</p><p>They resemble metal trash cans with lids and appear minuscule with the massive flood control wall as a backdrop.</p><p>But when the Susquehanna River rises, the well components hidden underground act as valves to relieve water pressure that could compromise the 16-mile levee system, said Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman.</p><p>&#8220;The relief wells are an integral element of the flood protection system,&#8221; Belleman said.</p><p>He is trying to educate the public about the wells because he believes many are unaware of their function and the need to maintain them.</p><p>The authority is paying Maryland-based Geo-Technology Associates Inc. $110,000 to inspect each well &#8212; an examination required by the federal government every five years.</p><p>The wells are up to 40 feet deep and scattered on the land side of the levee in Wilkes-Barre, Hanover Township, Kingston and Exeter, he said.</p><p>Each well is primarily lined with a gravel filter and perforated or slotted screens that absorb river seepage, according to a diagram supplied by Belleman.</p><p>During high water events, the devices help maintain the integrity of earthen levees by preventing boils and blowouts along the levee toe, Belleman said.</p><p>Some sections of the levee had to be reinforced with sandbags and several hundred tons of rock and dirt during the September 2011 record Susquehanna flood to plug paths under the levee that jeopardized its stability.</p><p>The inspection will take several weeks. Geo-Technology representatives fill up each well to test its capacity to hold water and discharge rate, Belleman said.</p><p>Those that don&#8217;t meet standards will be flagged for further review and possibly repairs. For example, well screens may be clogged with silt and bacteria, he said.</p><p>The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mandates the inspections and hydraulic testing as part of levee certification and to qualify for federal repair funding following disasters.</p><p>The levee runs from Exeter to Plymouth on the west side of the river and from the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre to Hanover Township on the east.</p><p>Next year, the levee walls and top will be surveyed to ensure there is no settling, which should cost about $20,000. An inspection of more than 100 pipes that run through the levee is scheduled for 2019 and has cost $150,000 in the past, he said.</p><p>The inspections and all other levee maintenance costs are covered by a fee paid by 14,153 levee-protected property owners that is increasing this year.</p><p>Depending on the assessed value of their structures, residential property owners protected by the levee will pay $16.56 to $33.12 more per year, while the annual increase will range from $33.12 to $536.64 for commercial, industrial and tax-exempt buildings.</p><p>The fee increase was necessary, authority members said, because the $1.2 million it generated annually wasn&#8217;t keeping pace with the average $1.89 million needed each year to maintain the system.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">This relief well along the Wyoming Valley Levee in Kirby Park looks like a trash can but performs a vital function when the Susquehanna River rises. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_reliefwell.jpeg</photo0><caption0>This relief well along the Wyoming Valley Levee in Kirby Park looks like a trash can but performs a vital function when the Susquehanna River rises. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Levee system’s relief wells set for inspection