The average citizen may not be aware of it, but the Vincennes Water Utilities has been putting extensive time to ensure that flood waters from the Wabash River doesn’t impact the operations of the city’s water and sewer system.
Levee Superintendent Hunter Pinnell says June 8th the pumps at the City’s South Plant have been operating nearly non-stop as the River continued to rise as the result of heavy rains.
Pinnell says although this considered a moderate flood he says there are things that can go wrong including pipes failing or the sewer plant taking in more storm water than it can handle. He says all of those things have to be closely monitored.
Water Utilities Manager Kirk Bouchie says employees with the Water Department have logged over 445 hours with half of those being overtime hours just to ensure the pumps are operating properly.