FRACKVILLE - After Taylor Russell's brush with death after being swept into the Little Mahanoy Creek on July 14, Frackville is considering options on what can be done to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Russell, 12, fell into the creek at Arch Street near Willow Street and was carried by the rushing water through one of two large drainage pipes, exiting not far from the Frackville Elks lodge at Arch and Third streets. After exiting from the underground pipe, she was swept down the waterway. She was rescued by firefighters about one-half mile away from where she entered the creek.
Borough Public Works Director Donald Zimmerman has been considering the flooding problem along West Arch Street where the accident occurred. Last Thursday, the creek flow was normal and low at the site, with both drainage pipes clearly visible.
"I don't know which pipe she went down," Zimmerman said, standing near the culvert where Russell entered the creek. "There was probably a foot of water over the road at the time. When you look at the creek now, it's barely running now, so you would never think it would get that high."
The creek was running about three inches deep last Thursday, about 36 inches below the road surface.
Zimmerman toured the area where the Little Mahanoy Creek flows from its start in the Altamont section of West Mahanoy Township. The creek begins small and flows into Frackville. In many locations, the creek is underground, flowing through pipes, including Route 61 (Lehigh Avenue), so many people are unaware that the creek exists in those areas.
"I know this has been here since I was a kid," Zimmerman, 44, said. "When I was a kid I remember canoeing with a friend on the Elks property right after a major storm. The picture was in the newspaper. I was probably about 12. I was talking to a guy who is 74 years old and he said this place always got flooded."
Zimmerman walked to Third Street where the creek flows into the open again through the two pipes. He said the distance from the Willow Street culvert and Third Street exit is more than 200 yards.
"The pipes are actually pretty smooth all the way through," Zimmerman said.
After major storm events, Zimmerman and his department clean problem pipes of obstructions.
"When we clean up, these are the pipes we go into to make sure that they're open and all the debris is out of them," he said. "We make sure that they're cleaned out, and we do a pretty good job. If you look into the pipe, you can see all the way through to the other end. The water was really moving. I figure that it took her about 30 seconds to go through the pipe."
Zimmerman said the pipes were cleared about three weeks before the incident and debris was removed. He said if the work had not been done, Russell could have been caught in the obstructions and would not have traveled through the entire pipe.
Zimmerman went to the creek behind the home of Edward and Mary Lou Michaels on West Wall Street where Russell grabbed a large rock and held on until her rescuers arrived. On the other side of the creek, Boyer's Food Market could be seen.
"She came down here right behind my house," Edward Michaels said. "I heard screaming, but so many kids play in that creek that you don't know if they're playing or something else. She came down a good half mile. It had to be scary coming down that pipe pitch black. Everyone did a fabulous job - fire companies, Zimmy, divers - were here instantly. I praise them all."
The Little Mahanoy Creek enters Butler Township and flows into the borough of Gordon, where it enters into the Mahanoy Creek.
What can be done about alleviating, if not eliminating, the situation still has to be discussed with the borough engineer, Zimmerman said.
"I have been discussing things with the streets chairman, but we can't do anything until Mr. Cuff comes back from vacation," Zimmerman said, referring to Entech Engineering project manager Donald Cuff. "We would need to get the engineer and DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) to take a look at it."
One idea being considered would reduce the sharp turn of the creek that is currently near the culvert, with the stream entering it through a narrow section bordered by wooden beams.
"We're thinking about talking to a local company to see if we can make a bigger 'L' out of concrete," Zimmerman said. "We haven't looked into that yet because we don't know if that would be sufficient, but that has been discussed."
A wider and less sharp turn would reduce the amount of water that backs up now and causes the flooding.
"The biggest issue will be with DEP if we're allowed to change the flow of the creek," Zimmerman said. "This would all have to be discussed with Don (Cuff), but since he's been away on vacation, he's in the dark about it at this point."
One suggestion has been to add storm grates to the culvert, but Zimmerman said if grates had been there, Russell could have been severely injured when the force of the water would have slammed her against them, or she could have been pinned against it and drowned.
"She never would have been able to sustain holding her breath," Zimmerman said.
Another option is the construction of holding ponds to reduce the flow of the water.
"There could be a catch pond to slow the water down," Zimmerman said. "You could dam up the water and let it trickle out and not come down as a constant flow."
Whatever the solution, be it a holding pond/dam or better stormwater drainage system, the stormwater would still eventually enter the Little Mahanoy Creek, according to Zimmerman.