WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. August 5,2009: Heavier than usual rains are causing an erosion problem under the new stands at the new $5.4 MillionLoucks Field. This,  according to Russell Davidson of Kaeyer, Garment& Davidson, the architects in charge of designing the new field which opened 8 months ago.  The School District, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business, Fred Seiler anticipates correction of the erosion prior to the start of football practice.

Stormwater runoff under stands is washing soil into track drain on apron of million dollar world class track at Loucks Field. (Pictured today) The cause is soil is being washed down from underneath the aluminum stands from storm water runoff and soil is being carried onto the apron of the track, Davidson said.

WPCNR first became aware of it when John Bailey observed and reported to the district a  two-foot wide eroded gap in the blacktop apron in front of the bleachers, which revealed a three-foot hole leading down to dirt underneath the track apron. Bailey reported the apron cave-in, the district replaced it with a circular drain cover pictured above within 48 hours of Mr. Bailey's reporting the hole last Friday.

Fred Seiler, Assistant Superintendent for Business explained to WPCNR the dirt seen under the blacktop apron of the track was a “compaction” problem, but could not explain exactly what caused the gap. He said the district was aware of it and was moving to repair the compaction problem before the start of football practice,  but he could not explain the specific cause.  Seiler said there was no danger of the condition compromising the new track, causing it to heave up  or damage to the synthetic turf. He also said there was no estimate of the cost of the repair as of Monday.

Evidence of erosion and the "Hanging Gardens of Loucks Field" photographed last Sunday. The soil runoff has been clogging the drains which were being cleared today (Wednesday).

On Wednesday afternoon, the grates over drains in front of the bleachers were cleaned of dried dirt apparently preventing free flow of surface water, and weeds growing in the dirt had been weed-whacked by a district grounds crew.

WPCNR contacted Russell Davidson  of Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson, the architects who designed the stadium renovation. Davidson explained the cause was erosion of soil from underneath the section of aluminum bleachers due to “a little bit more erosion than any one expected due to the extensive amount of rain.”

Davidson(shown at the Board of Education July meeting)  said by telephone today that  erosion is not unusual in stadium projects: “It takes a while for the soil to solidify,” and the heavy rain created more erosion than expected. He said the only other problem  with the stadium was a 12-inch area that had to be patched. That was not the hole that WPCNR discovered last week and that was capped last week. Photo, WPCNR News Archive

Davidson said the traditional way to deal with the erosion problem of the nature the field is now experiencing is to lay fabric down over the soil (in this case, under the bleachers). Davidson said KG & D had been in touch with the district, and he said the district is dealing with the problem, but he did not know if Mike Lynch, the administrator of Buildings and Grounds  was going to install fabric under the bleachers as the solution.

Out of Warranty

Asked how long a warranty existed on the stadium, Davidson explained there was usually a one-year warranty from the date the project was accepted by the school district or entity. He did not know exactly when the project (or specifically the bleacher portion)  was officially accepted by the school district.

View Under Southend of Bleachers.

Examination of the slope under the bleachers today revealed construction debris some black tarpaper covering a portion of the slope underneath the northend of the bleachers, and a large amount of rocks in the area directly adjacent the track.

View Under northend of stands in viciniety of the runoff -- note black tar paper in bottom third of picture.

Asked about the drain-pipes installed by the school district last January (in photograph above)  at the base of the grassy banks to the south and north of the new bleachers,after extensive flooding was observed by this reporter spilling onto the new track,  Davidson said those drains were part of the original project, but delayed by the school district until after the stadium was built and undertaken by the school district (at a cost of about $18,000) to “save money.”