Heavy rains caused flooding during the semester break inside the basement of a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff building, damaging floors.
UAPB Director of Facilities Robert Wall said water entered the Kenneth L. Johnson Sr. Health, Physical Education and Recreation Complex sometime between Dec. 18-Dec. 24. It caused damage to the floors but the building was not ever closed because of the flooding, he said.
Heavy rains fell in Pine Bluff in late December, causing flooding in neighborhoods near the Arkansas River.
“Our system could not pump the water out of the building,” Wall said. “Our basement sits below ground and pumps water uphill to the storm system. It flooded the basement. We will have to replace [the] hardwood floor of the racquetball courts.”
Classes that were scheduled to be held in the racquetball courts will be moved to another location, Wall said. Students are about to resume courses as the spring semester begins Monday, Jan. 11.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The HPER Complex houses a basketball court, swimming pool, academic rooms and corridors. Those areas were not impacted by the flooding, Wall said. The basement also contains storage rooms, which are not accessed by students.
Wall said there was a false rumor about a pipe bursting. He said they are still assessing the damage to determine the cost of the flooding.
“Once the rain came, the system begins pumping water back out,” Wall said.
But water did not have anywhere to go because of the volume of rain in a short period of time, he said.
Wall said UAPB employs engineers who are looking at preventing the building from flooding again. As part of this effort, they tried to create a flood in a controlled test but could not do so.
“We deal with these things and move on,” Wall said. “We are working on getting that area back up as soon as possible. I do not expect it will take the whole semester. It takes one inch of water to cause the floors to expand. We are dealing with wood over concrete.”
Wall recalled a similar incident of flooding three years ago that affected a portion of the dance studio. UAPB replaced that part of the dance floor, he said.