Point State Park Manager 'Hopeful' Flooding Didn't Damage Fountain Again
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Crews in Point State Park were busy Wednesday pushing and spraying away several inches of mud left by flood waters that have now receded.
They've cleared the plaza around the fountain but haven't touched the fountain itself yet.
"This is worse than I thought it was," Park Manager Jake Weiland said.
But he hopes it's not the kind of problem they dealt with this spring, when the fountains tall center column was out of commission for weeks after flooding.
"We're hopeful that this flood doesn't bring as much sediment as it did before," Weiland said.
In the spring, 8 to 10 inches of sediment fouled things up with the pumps, and extensive repairs were needed.
But this time around they did something different.
They closed what are called knife grates in the fountain to make sure mud doesn't get into the system.
Of course, they'll still have the challenge of scooping all the mud out of the fountain before they can start it up again.
They also anticipate there may be a few fish in the fountain, which they'll use buckets and nets to deposit back in the rivers.
"We're hopeful this time it goes a lot smoother than it did before in the spring," Weiland said. "And we're hopefully there's no damages. Stay tuned."
He anticipates it'll be a matter of days before they get the fountain going again.
He also fears the flood may have damaged some of the lighting on the park's steps leading to the fountain, as well as the ADA kayak launch.