Freaky Fourth of July waterworks flood floors at Greeley gym complex
July 25, 2008
by Jim Nottingham
Fourth of July is typically known for its great fireworks displays, but this year it was a thunderous waterworks show at the Greeley gym that took top billing.
The summer storm that started late Friday, July 4 around 11:45 p.m. and continued into the early morning hours of July 5 dropped over four inches of rain water in about twenty minutes. To anyone out in the deluge, it was like walking through a waterfall except that there was no way out.
This staggering amount of rain over such a brief period of time caused the stream behind the Greeley gym to overflow. The flood waters rose high enough to cover the floors of the gym complex. The water caused extensive damage to three gymnasium floors at the high school. The damage has knocked the entire gym complex out of commission until further notice.
It was sheer serendipity that Girls Varsity Basketball Coach Liz Lops went to the gym over the holiday weekend on Saturday and discovered the problem, which would have unquestionably caused more extensive damage if it had remained undiscovered until Monday. Lops contacted Athletic Director Steve Young, who called in Head Custodian and Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Dave Fernandes. He quickly organized an emergency crew of custodians who gave up their holiday weekend activities to mop, wet vac and otherwise deal with the problems created by the flash flood.
The floors were the biggest casualty
The gymnasium and coaches’ office floors required immediate and continuing attention. Several sections of the floors had to be removed. Close to thirty pumps, dehumidifiers and heaters were deployed to eliminate the remaining water and lower the moisture level of the wood floors in an attempt to reduce the need to replace even more flooring.
Several insurance and flooring company visits later finds the process is in its third week, but the moisture levels are still considerably higher than normal. Nothing else can be done until these levels return to normal range. Beyond the flooring that was immediately removed to position the drying equipment, several sections of the gym floors will need replacement due to cupping and some warping despite the valiant efforts of the custodian crew and the actions of the flooring company.
The race to finish the flooring before the start of school is on. At present, it appears to be a very close race. Replacement of the flooring cannot begin until the gyms are completely dry. Once the floors are replaced they have to be sanded, painted and varnished, a six-step, time-consuming process. Young said, “We were fortunate that Liz [Coach Lops] came in on Saturday or the damage could have been catastrophic. As unlucky as we were to be flooded, we were quite lucky that we caught it as early as we did.”
Wet equipment and uniforms hung out to dry
Wet equipment, including football shoulder pads, had to be sent out to be cleaned and refurbished. To refurbish shoulder pads, a certified reconditioning company must test the parts, pads and straps to make sure the equipment is still safe to use. Numerous uniforms, including these for football and basketball, also had to be sent out to be cleaned.
The quiet of summer was disturbed by “bombs busting in air,” but who knew that they would be water bombs delivered by Mother Nature.
Note: The David Lee Summer Basketball Camp scheduled for the week of August 11 at Greeley gym has been relocated to Bell Middle School.
Sports renovations already underway at Greeley
This summer was already a busy one for sports-related construction work as old lockers are being replaced with new wider ones. The new lockers will accommodate backpacks and helmets in an effort to eliminate the relatively minor problems of theft and prank-related tampering with student belongings that sometimes occur while students are attending physical education classes and during practice hours.
In addition to this indoor work, the competition field bleachers, where football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey fans gather to root for their teams, are scheduled to be redone. The visitor side stands have already been taken down and are in the process of being removed. The home side stand demolition has just begun. The new sets of stands are scheduled to go up during August and be ready for the start of school and the fall sports season.
Jim Nottingham and Steve Young examine the damage
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