Beams Used to Close Flood Gates Stolen

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040921/ap_on_fe_st/flood_gates&e=10&ncid=



HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - It's a good thing Huntington didn't need to close it's flood gates as the Ohio River flooded this week because some of the equipment used to do so has been stolen.



When a floodgate is closed, aluminum beams are stacked on top of each other to the desired height, said Dave Maynard, the floodwall's superintendent. As many as 20 beams are needed to close a floodgate completely.


About 70 aluminum beams have been stolen from storage buildings along the floodwall over the past 18 months, Maynard said.


"I'm not exactly sure why people would want to take them, but we haven't had any luck in recovering them," Maynard said.


The Ohio River crested at 51.28 feet at 3 p.m. Monday. Flood stage there is 50 feet. Had the river risen a few more feet, the city would have closed four floodgates.


Mayor David Felinton said the city is buying new aluminum beams. Until they arrive, wooden beams can be used. Wooden beams were used to close the floodgates until the city purchased aluminum beams in the 1970s, Maynard said. It was unclear how much the new beams will cost.


"We would only be forced to use the wooden beams if we had to shut most or all of the entrances, and that would be a flood event that the city has never seen before," Felinton said.


The use of wooden beams has been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Felinton said.


"Wooden beams worked years ago, and I'm sure they would be perfectly effective today," he said.


Huntington's flood gates were last closed in 1997.