Referred to as a trash cap, Roanoke Rapids Public Works Director Larry Chalker explained the cap is designed to keep trash out of the pipe as well askeep water going into the pipe creating a vortex.
The vortex effect is believed to have caused Rochelle Pond to exceed its capacity during flooding last August. The vortex put extra force on the pipe. “We suspect in the flood a vortex formed in the pipe and caused it to collapse,” Chalker said.
There is still some hardware work to be done of the cap, he said. It took an hour to secure the cap to the pipe.
