The Daily News

The basement level of the Law Enforcement Center in Wahpeton is in its fourth week and the third stage of having its floor torn up and dug out to combat pressing underground water issues and foundation problems.

"We're looking into the water issues from up to two years ago," said John Anderson, Richland County Courthouse maintenance. "It's a good time to do this since we're looking at flooding again this spring."

The project will cost $93,000. It will primarily combat the effects of hydrostatic pressure under the basement floor. This pressure results when the water table pushes up through the concrete.

The basement floor of the Law Enforcement Center is currently being ripped apart to fix mounting water issues. John Anderson, Richland County Courthouse maintenance, said their goal is to save the foundation. photo by Brandon L. Summers Advertisement

"We've got a lot of cracks and bowing in the floor," said Anderson. "Our goal is to save the foundation, is what it comes down to... This is something we need to do to save the foundation down here."

The project is being handled by Basement Water Control based in Rockville, Minn.

"They're very detail-oriented, unbelievable," said Anderson. "These guys are doing a good job for us."

The company began by jackhammering the floor into strips, digging it out, refilling it with rock and covering it up with concrete and new tiles. The end result will be a smooth new floor.

"It's all manual labor," said Anderson. "The only machine they have is that conveyor leading outside."

They project is being completed in stages. Stages one and two are already finished, and they are currently on stage three, which focuses on the community, mechanical and storage rooms and the gun range. Stage four will be the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Stage five will be the lower level lobby, which includes the Juvenile Court office. The company will return in August for stage six, which involves the old boiler room, where the heating units are kept. The delay is because the space has its own unique problems.

"We have another level back here, if you can believe it, that goes 3 feet lower than what you're seeing," said Anderson. "That room, basically, we have standing water in there consistently."

One of the early casualties of the project was Anderson's lower-level office, which was only reestablished this past week.

"We've been operating off my cell phone and radio because we didn't have e-mail or anything here," said Anderson.

While the process is only on stage three, Anderson has already noticed palpable improvements to the subterranean offices.

"It's not quite as stagnant and stuff down in the basement," said Anderson. "It actually smells very clean... We've got water flowing already where they finished. They've done a good job for us, no doubt."

The project has generated greater benefits than a more pleasant redolence amid the lower-level offices, though.

"We're finding out a lot of things about the building that we didn't know," said Anderson. "Footing size, concrete thickness throughout the bottom of the floor. We're finding some positive things, but we're also finding some negative stuff, you know. Especially the water content... We had to add more pits at that other end of the building because of the amount of water we were running into. They didn't want to overwhelm the pits down here."

The last time the county undertook a project of this scope was four years ago, when the courthouse's boilers, one leaky and the other with a warped header, were replaced with a brick-based heating system. It heats bricks at night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and at 8 a.m. the brickload heats both of the buildings.

"During operating hours in these two buildings we use minimal electricity from Otter Tail," said Anderson.

The current project of resolving the basement's underground water issues, though, dwarfs that one.

"It's been an exciting job," said Anderson. "Definitely the most invasive job we've done around here, next to the heating system."

The project is expected to be completed by the middle of May.

"We're hoping for mid-May because we have election stuff coming up," said Anderson. "We want to have the community room done... but the boiler room is going to be farther out."

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