Emergency project repairs begin in Cherberg Building

Starting Wednesday, Dec. 21, the Department of Enterprise Services has authorized an emergency project to repair a water leak that is resulting in moderately high volumes of water entering the historic Cherberg Building's basement under certain conditions.

Recent incidents include:

  • Over Thanksgiving weekend, an estimated 100 gallons leaked into the building.
  • Rain and melting snow on the morning of Monday, Dec. 19, resulted in an estimated 30 gallons of water leaking into the building.

Water coming into the basement's equipment storage room is being captured in large garbage buckets, and equipment has been placed upon pallets to reduce risk of damage.

A preliminary investigation revealed water from a collapsed roof drain pipe is saturating the soil next to a basement wall in the Cherberg Building. Pressure from the saturated soil is pushing water through the basement wall.

DES has hired a contractor to remove hedges along the building's north side and excavate with hand shovels to minimize risk of damaging utility pipes adjacent to the basement wall. The contractor will then repair the pipe to drain the water away from the building and alleviate the pressure.

The work is expected to last two weeks, but is weather dependent.