Water Water Water

2008-04-20 22:34:34.000 – Ryan Buckley,  Summit Intern

Water water water. We had some flooding problems today. The bottom of the tower started to overflow into the living quarters up over a 4 inch lip between the two rooms. The observatory went immediately from weather mode and shifted to water removal. We tried to open the summer exit door at the bottom of the tower, but the door was still iced in. This made water removal much more difficult. We set up the sump pump and filled three 20 gallon barrels to lower the water level in the base of the tower. This decreased the water level about 1 inch, enough to stop the slow purge of water over the door jam lip. I was in charge of the sump pump, Mike and Stacey hacked away at the ice blocking the door, which resulted in Kyle waking up a bit earlier than he wanted for his afternoon shift.

After the water had lowered enough to stop its escape into the living quarters we all went out side to divert the incoming water that was the source of our problems. The water was flowing at about 1 gallon a minute and every strike to remove the ice sent a torrent of water up into our faces. The summer door was finally opened and the barrels of water where emptied along with the remaining three inches in the base of the tower.

I will be honest with you, working in water is one of my favorite things to do so when the water handling was under control I was both satisfied and disappointed. The detour I made for the flowing water steers the water away from the door and into the alpine flow and with any luck will hold up just fine.

We will have to keep an eye on this issue throughout the night but with cooling temperatures slowing the melt, we will hopefully not be participating in any midnight water shenanigans.

Ryan Buckley,  Summit Intern