September, October Rains Take Toll on City's Drainage System

Heavy downpours this month coupled with rains from Hurricane Irene have left their mark on Manassas Park’s drainage system.

 Two of the city’s corrugated metal pipes or, culverts had to be replaced this month, city manager Jim Zumwalt and public works director Jay Johnson said in an update to city council on Oct.19, during the body’s regularly scheduled meeting.

The culverts, both located on Moseby Court, had become rusted and the rains caused them to essentially fold, Johnson said.

An emergency mechanism was put in place to service the area through the winter, Zumwalt said.

In the spring, public works crews will come through and work on them again, he added.

Public works crews always check the city’s drainage system before and after rain events, Johnson said. That’s how they discovered the culverts needed to be removed and replaced.

 Smaller repairs were done during Hurricane Irene, but the replacement work done about two weeks ago was considered to be a major repair job, Johnson said.

 The problem with the culverts is not a unique situation, Johnson told the governing body Tuesday night.

 There are other culverts in the city, such as the ones at Manassas Drive and Railroad Avenue and Manassas Drive near the department of public works building, Johnson said.

 There are some piping issues associated with the culverts on Denver Drive, he said.

  “Those are a lot larger and they have not suffered the deterioration at the bottom as (the Moseby Court culverts) have, but we are inspecting all of them,” Johnson said.

There are also storm drains in the city that need attention, he said.

 The problem during the last major rain event wasn’t the creeks overflowing their banks, but rather, the water following off the road and into the creeks properly, Johnson said.

In mid-October rains closed Manassas Drive, Martin Street, Polk Drive and Courtney Drive, he said. 

 On Tuesday, several city councilmen said they’d received favorable comments from residents about public works employees and police working hard to make repairs and control traffic during the heavy rain storms.

The governing body also commended public works for letting council members know when crews were responding to major incidents in the city.

 Johnson said he tries to let school administrators and city council know when there are major incidents, so they can stay abreast and be prepared to answer any questions from people in the community.