Wyoming Valley Levee overseer retiring

After a dozen years overseeing the vital Wyoming Valley Levee System along the Susquehanna River, Christopher Belleman will be retiring.

Belleman, executive director of Luzerne County’s Flood Protection Authority, recently submitted his resignation to take effect Jan. 9, saying he is “immeasurably grateful for the opportunity” to serve in the role so many years.

“It has been a privilege to work and collaborate alongside past and current board and staff members who have embraced our flood protection mission and who are committed to making a positive impact in the community,” he said in his resignation letter to the five-member authority board.

Stretching 16 miles, the levee protects about 14,200 properties in parts of Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Forty Fort, Luzerne, Pringle, Edwardsville, Plymouth, Swoyersville, Kingston, Hanover Township and Wilkes-Barre.

The levee system is more than a wall and includes 78 drainage structures, 128 relief wells, 13 pump stations and an electrical distribution system with eight substations, 27 transformers and miles of underground and aerial transmission lines, authority representatives have said.

A Kingston resident, Belleman was hired as flood authority executive director in September 2013, filling a position previously held by Jim Brozena.

Belleman has more than four decades of civil engineering experience and was already known in government because he had previously worked for the county since 2007 as an assistant county engineer before his promotion to county operational services division head in July 2013.

He said he timed his retirement at the start of 2026 “out of a sense of duty” to bring several active construction projects to the “finish line” and also provide the authority board with time to determine how it will fill the leadership void.

Belleman stressed he has purposefully worked to build procedures and expertise on staff so flood protection would never be compromised if the director position became vacant.

That includes development of the “Wyoming Valley Flood Response Plan,” which outlines the planned coordinated response that will be provided by both the independent authority and county government when the Susquehanna rises to flood stage.

Laura Holbrook has been deputy executive director since spring 2024 and previously worked as the authority’s flood mitigation specialist.

During her nearly decade working with Belleman, Holbrook said his “dedication to flood protection in this valley has never wavered.”

“He carried out his responsibilities at the Flood Protection Authority with purpose and consistently balanced the mission with fiscal responsibility,” Holbrook said. “His attention to detail and thoroughness defined his leadership and definitely sets a high standard for the authority and those who follow.”

Holbrook said she has admired Belleman’s “deep commitment to the community” and “willingness to collaborate with others on flood-related projects for the greater good.”

“Chris has been more than just a boss. He’s been a mentor, a leader and someone who treats people with genuine respect and kindness,” she said, adding that he will be missed.

Levee repairs

Belleman was at the helm when the authority wrapped up repair of levee battle scars sustained when the Susquehanna swelled to a record 42.66 feet during Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011.

The federal government picked up the $1.3 million tab to repair pumps, flood gates, relief wells, boils and other levee damage.

Belleman had walked the levee in early 2014 with representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a final inspection of repairs.

He said the federal government paid 100% of the repair costs because the authority “maintains the system in excellent condition.”

The levee also remains accredited for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance program — a step necessary to prevent significant flood insurance rate hikes for property owners protected by the system, Belleman said.

Insurance increases had been proposed several years ago for the Plymouth and Wilkes-Barre/Hanover Township levee reaches because federal analysis concluded the “freeboard” safety buffer atop both levee stretches was inches below the standard 3 feet for a variety of reasons, including increased runoff to the Susquehanna from new development, a larger quantity of river sediment and tree growth and more frequent and intense storms attributed to climate change.

In response, Belleman and the authority board successfully worked to obtain a fresh Army Corps risk assessment using revised evaluation techniques that no longer deem freeboard a major determining factor.

Belleman highlighted some other significant achievements during his tenure, including:

• The fee on levee-protected properties was increased in 2017 as a stabilizing effort based on long-term capital expenditure projections, and it has not increased since then. Implemented in 2009, the fee covers levee maintenance costs and is based on the assessed value of structures, with total annual payments ranging from $63 to $1,213.

• The authority is upgrading electronic control panels at all 13 levee pump stations to replace controls that are more than 20 years old and at the end of their service life.

The pump stations have deep water wells to collect drainage from the land side of the levee when it can no longer naturally feed into the Susquehanna during a flood. The pumps lift the collected water over the levee wall and dump it onto concrete aprons into the river.

“This project will ensure the reliability of our stations for the next quarter century,” Belleman said.

• The authority partnered with Wilkes-Barre to construct a multi-use facility at Kirby Park that houses six trailers storing flood closure structures for both the Kingston and Wilkes-Barre sides of the Market Street Bridge and the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

• An abandoned property at 398 Delaney Street in Hanover Township was purchased by the authority and converted to a new downstream levee maintenance facility. It made the maintenance of the southern levee portion more efficient because crews don’t have to work solely from the maintenance garage near the authority offices in Forty Fort, he said.

Improvements also are underway at the Forty Fort maintenance facility to expand secure storage for levee equipment and vehicles.

• Ending more than 25 years of paying for leased space, the authority purchased a property at 1989 Wyoming Ave. in Forty Fort and converted it into a permanent command center and authority administration offices.

Many of the improvements were covered by $8 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding earmarked by county council.

Belleman’s resignation letter told the authority board he is “incredibly proud of what we have achieved together.”

“While I am leaving, there is still much more work to do, and I am excited about the authority’s future and its continuing development to better serve the community,” Belleman said.