With a squeegee and pushbroom, volunteers Michael Pugh (left) of Port Costa and David Gonzalez of Crockett were part of the cleanup crew on Saturday and Sunday, January 7 and 8. Ciera Johnson (below) of Rodeo hauled lumber out of the tool room.

NEW YEAR’S DELUGE WALLOPS PORT COSTA SCHOOL

Continuous heavy rain that drenched the Bay Area over New Year’s weekend left its imprint on the Port Costa School. Waterborne debris created a blockage in the storm drain that runs beneath the school, forcing water up to three feet deep into the building, high enough to float refrigerators. The powerful hydraulic force of the water buckled the concrete floor in several places, leaving a 7,500 square-foot layer of mud in its wake.

The resulting damage is a setback for the Port Costa Conservation Society (PCCS), whose volunteer members have been working for the past several years to rehabilitate the 1911 school building.

All of the debris that jammed the storm drain has since been removed, including two sheets of corrugated tin roofing and an 18-foot log which had to be sawed into three pieces to get it out of the line. At the peak of the downpour, the swift-moving water gouged deep holes on the ballfield and tore up asphalt on the playground..

A small army of more than two dozen volunteers responded to a request for help, rising to the challenge with water blasters, shovels, brooms and squeegees. Volunteers lugged out the entire contents of the first floor for cleaning and/or disposal. Water-soaked materials and ruined furniture as well as two refrigerators formed a great mound of junk outside, later hauled away to the dump by Tom and Suzanne List. Salvageable materials, such as tools, lumber, ice chests, pots and pans and other equipment were cleaned up on the spot. Brian Staggs brought his Kubota backhoe from home to scoop up great quantities of mud from the school building. Among the many mud-spattered workers was Ciera Johnson of Rodeo, who put in ten hours of slogging through mud to earn special volunteer credits for her class at John Swett High School in Crockett.

Hazardous holes on the ballfield and playground have been fenced off for safety. An insurance adjuster has visited the site and will be reporting back to the PCCS board in the near future on whether the extensive damage and property losses will be covered. Also, the board is conferring with county officials and flood control personnel trying to determine what alternatives are available for repairing the storm drain.

The storeroom behind the kitchen had 3 feet of water, enough to float a refrigerator.

HOME PAGE