BY ROD HANSEN

The Public Library took its first step toward understanding its drainage woes this week, with the help of a community volunteer and a piece of state-of-the-art technology.

Problems with the library drainage system likely allowed the leaks during the flooding of April 16 that brought extensive damage to the children’s room, said library director Christine Hague.

Library renovations will probably include a drainage overhaul, Hague said.

On Monday, May 14, resident Tom Fenner surveyed the library’s drainage system, which sits underneath the lawn off of East Street. He conducted the study using a ground penetrating radar machine owned and manufactured by Geophysical Survey Systems Inc., of Salem, Hague said.

The machine, which the company donated for use as a community service, allows surveyors to capture and digitally save three-dimensional images from below the Earth’s surface, Fenner said.

An older version of the technology was used to inspect nuclear power facilities in the 1980s, while the current uses include archeology, engineering and environmental uses, Fenner said.

“It works like a fish-finder, only it uses radar rather than sound technology,” said Fenner, a former employee of Geophysical Survey Systems.

Fenner planned his survey by first plotting parallel lines on the library grounds, which he used to guide the machine during data collection. The survey itself resembled the process of moving a lawn, and Fenner said he expected it to take about an hour. He said he planned to present Hague with the data approximately one week afterwards.

The image of the library’s drainage system is essential in planning for future renovations, Hague said.

“This is going to open things up considerably,” said Hague. “People are wondering why nothing is happening, and part of the reason is, we need this information,” Hague said.

The drainage survey will allow engineer Harry Wetherbee to determine the slope of the pipes, which will offer insight into whether the library may be getting back flow from other drains on the street, Hague said.

Wetherbee, owner of the Weare-based Geotechnical Services, is also donating his time to work on the library study, Hague said.

In the month since water damage shut down the Children’s Room on the library’s basement level, Hague said much of the work done has been on a volunteer basis.

“I’m overwhelmed by the volunteer support we’ve gotten, said Hague.

For example, volunteers were largely responsible for moving more than 6,000 items including books, magazines and audio/visual materials from the Children’s Room into storage at town offices and in the library’s Sawyer Conference Room to prevent water and humidity damage, she said.

Hague said she had planned a meeting with volunteers on May 14 to coordinate future efforts.

Further actions following Fenner’s drainage survey will include meeting with library trustees, talking with Director of Public Works Carl Knapp and Wetherbee, and finally speaking with selectmen about renovation plans and costs, Hague said.

Though insurance money will cover repairs to the children’s room, Hague said any work done outside the building will be done at the town’s expense.

The situation will force the library to compete with other departments for municipal dollars, Hague said.

“There’s a lot of people reaching for the same purse,” she said.

Maintaining children’s programs remains another primary concern for the coming summer, said children’s librarian Cora Ciampi.

About 20 boxes of picture books and juvenile fiction have since been transported from storage into the library’s Paige Room, displacing a collection of adult biographies, Ciampi said.

Programs such as tiny tots for 2- to 3-year-olds, story time for 4- to 5-year-olds and the summer reading program for children up to grade 6 will all continue through the summer, Ciampi said.

The Sawyer Conference Room, which also sits in the basement floor but did not sustain water damage in the flooding, will house some of the children’s programs, she said.

Ciampi also praised the volunteers for their efforts in helping the library recover from the flooding.

“The people who have jumped in to volunteer are very interested in helping us get up and running again. It’s very heartwarming,” Ciampi said.