Engineers trying to figure out how to end court flooding.

Byline: Bradford L. Miner

DUDLEY - While ServiceMaster employs industrial-strength dehumidifiers to draw the last vestiges of moisture from the flooded Dudley District Court, engineers are looking at ways to avoid future flooding.

A fast-moving thunderstorm delivered torrential rainfall the afternoon of Aug. 7, flooding roads in Dudley and Webster and overwhelming the catch basins at the rear of the courthouse.

A foot of water pooled quickly, forcing its way through glass doors, spreading throughout the lower level, eventually reaching a depth of four inches. Quick-thinking maintenance crew got everything from sensitive computer and electronic equipment to boxes of copy paper off the floor and onto desktops.

While thunderstorms have been an almost daily occurrence this summer, court officials said they were not prepared for this amount of rainfall.

Robert M. Thompson, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service office in Taunton, said more than 250 severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for different Massachusetts counties this summer and that afternoon was no exception.

He said it's entirely possible that 1 to 2 inches of rain could have fallen as the thunderstorm moved over Dudley and Webster.

Kevin Flanagan, spokesman for the state Division of Capital Asset Management, said a civil engineering team consisting of state personnel and consulting engineers was being assembled and would take a look at the existing catch basins and drainage to determine how best to avoid future flood damage.

Mr. Flanagan said the $1.8 million improvement project at the court that was completed in 2007 included a doubling of the parking spaces at the courthouse, and the building of berms to direct runoff to catch basins.

During the Aug. 7 storm, water entered the building through air conditioning vents on both sides of the building that have since been protected by sandbags. It also poured in through the rear glass doors as catch basins became overwhelmed.

A foot of water created a temporary pond in the back of the building.

He said the engineers would look at the topography of the site and the capacity of the catch basins.

Clerk-magistrate Kenneth F. Candito said the catch basins at the rear of the courthouse eventually connect to a drain off the courthouse property.

Mr. Candito said the court was 100 percent operational, but ServiceMaster continued to work in the building on weekends to make certain all the moisture from the flooding has been removed.

He said a figure on the cost of the flooding cleanup was not yet available.

Joan Kenney, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Trial Court, said she was told by court facilities personnel that because trial court personnel were used along with private contractors, even a ballpark figure of the immediate cost of the cleanup had yet to be determined.

Ms. Kenney said Division of Capital Asset Management personnel would develop cost estimates for any long-term fix for the drainage problem.

"I know this is on the DCAM radar screen, but I don't know how much a priority it is, and whether or not money would be available for the work that needs to be done," Mr. Candito said.

The clerk-magistrate noted that the Aug. 7 thunderstorm represented an extreme case, and Mr. Flanagan said the drainage system had been designed for just such a condition.

"Obviously some changes have to be made to make certain this doesn't happen again," Mr. Candito said, adding he was confident that the state "would do the right thing."

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Frank Harrington, facility manager at Dudley District Court, walks past sandbagged air-conditioner vents and one of the storm drains that could not keep up with heavy rain Aug. 7.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/DAN GOULD