NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – It’s well-known that flooding is a common fact of life in parts of Norfolk. One way the city is working to combat it is with a new pumping station in the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood on Kimball Loop.
The timing is great, as our region heads into the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Norfolk has more than a dozen pump stations in strategic locations, in an effort to keep water off the streets, and where it belongs.
The newest one at 2901 Kimball Loop opened a few months ago and WAVY got an up close look this week.
Senior Maintenance Supervisor Chris Taylor explained the problem that litter poses. “So when the water hits the storm drains from the streets, everything comes into here so all that trash is from litter being thrown out in the storm system. We do have a trash system to try and catch all of it, but some smaller items do make their way through.”
All that trash has the potential to end up in the river.
When water levels reach 11 1/2 feet, the pumps will kick on. They can pump more than 27,000 gallons per minute.
Daily inspections and routine maintenance is performed on all the pump stations.
