Downtown businesses flooded

Sunday, February 13, 2000 By Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood The Grand Rapids Press

Bob Israels closed his downtown Grand Rapids furniture store early Saturday afternoon as he found that sandbags are "hard to come by" in this town.

However, he did manage to round up about 20 bags to mark off a section of his store where he estimated about 500 gallons of water were leaking in through the walls due to a water main break south of Pearl Street.

For hours, Grand Rapids firefighters pumped water out of Israels Design For Living, 226 Pearl St. NW, and the exterior "utility pit" at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel across the street. The water was backing up in the 20-foot, underground pit that contains phone, steam and electrical lines running to the hotel.Water pumps seemed to be keeping most of the water -- pouring from an unknown location -- out of the hotel property , but Israels did sustain damage.

"It's just a mess," Israels said, recalling a similar flood inside the store about 15 years ago when a burst water main flooded his store. "It's coming right through the walls."

The power and water were shut off at Israels shortly after the store closed at 3 p.m.

"We've got damage, but we don't know how much," Israels said, explaining that workers were trying to keep the water out of the main showroom.

Grand Rapids Fire Battalion Chief Tom Taylor said reports of minor flooding and flickering power came from other buildings in the area. However, he said the biggest problem seemed to be near the hotel and furniture store.

Taylor was unsure how much water was leaking into Israels and the hotel, but said the Fire Department provided pumps to keep the buildings as dry as possible.

By 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, city crews had located the broken main and were beginning repairs.The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel remained open to guests throughout the day.

Link:

http://gr.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20000213g2water13024303.frm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 14, 2000

Answers

And the connection to y2k is.....?

-- X (X@X.com), February 14, 2000.

Don't know for sure if there is a y2k related connection.. I do know there was a big question mark about sewer and water system y2k preparedness in US. I also know there have been a large number of major water main (20-48 inch) breaks in cities throughout the US of late...What do you think is causing them?

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 14, 2000.

WAY TOO MANY WATER MAIN BREAKS (remember, the large ones are not attributed to cold weather)!!!! also too many gas main breaks, train derailments (we had one yesterday in baltimore that sent dozens to the hospital), etc. so what, did January bring about a new era of accidental mishaps and clumsiness?

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), February 14, 2000.

Wasn't any colder than normal here in West Michigan this weekend. I'm in Grand Rapids as I type this...typical day in February here.

Wait until spring time, when it rains alot...they've had a history of their sewage overflowing into the Grand River, so if someone picks this up over the wires during the spring months, this is nothing new.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), February 14, 2000.

What isnote4worthy is the number of reports posted from Michigan -- Carl -- do you live in Michigan? Every day there are reports of schools sytem foul-ups, 911 outages, etc. all from michigan.

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-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), February 14, 2000.

Doubtful this is Y2k related. Lived in Marne [12 miles west of GR for about 35 yr. before moving to Indiana.]

This sort of thing happens in GR every 3 or 4 years. Few years ago the old Pantland Hotel basement was flooded. Main problem in downtown Grand Rapids is the water mains aren't made of plastic or clay.....the majority of them are still the old hollowed out oak logs set in the 1800s. City and state officials said the logs were in better shape after 100+ yrs. than modren pipes would be after 20 or 30. TPTB say it's best to leave the logs be and replace as needed. In the meantime, Feb. and March bring major watermain breaks that create havoc and headaches.

-- justme (justme@myhouse.com), February 15, 2000.