Flood damages Seaford H.S. basement

The Seaford Board of Education met last week and discussed damages from a flood in the high school basement after a water main burst in the front of the school.

At the meeting on Nov. 5, teachers and Seaford residents gathered to discuss the unforeseen flood and other various issues.

“Last week, about 12:30 in the afternoon, the water main that runs underneath the front lawn of the school ruptured,” Board President Bruce Kahn said. “It’s 58 years old and it was just due to age. The contact point, just six feet away from the building, broke and it and forced several hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to run into the basement of the high school.”

Although the school has insurance with a $10,000 deductible, they estimate the flood was severe enough to cause hundreds of thousands of dollars worth in damage.

“One good thing is that because it happened during the school day, we were able to get the proper companies to come and stop the flood,” Kahn said. “We had restoration and insurance companies as well as plumbers on site immediately to complete the repair of that water main well after midnight that night so we could then open school the next day.”

Due to the pipe rupture, there was no running water in the school for one hour that day and all after-school activities were canceled. All equipment stored in the basement is said to be damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced as soon as possible.

“Our insurance companies have been on top of it,” Kahn added. “And we are quantifying all the damages.”

With a fear of mold growing in the basement, the school has taken proper measures to restore the area and control the damage. The restoration company has scattered dehumidifiers throughout the basement, cleaned the mud off the floor and replaced all the rotted wood underneath the wall structures.

“The company we have doing the restoration is doing an outstanding job for us,” Superintendent Brian Conboy said. “While we never like for things like this to happen, I think this is the best-case scenario for us.”