Water damage is among the most common threats to collections. If you work with heritage collections long enough, you will face a water incident. Examples include:
Preventing damage is far easier than addressing it after the fact. Sometimes there are signs that water might be an imminent threat, such as a bulging ceiling tile (figure 1) or telltale white crusts associated with seeping groundwater (figure 2). There are inexpensive water sensors available to help alert staff to the unwelcome presence of water in collections areas (figure 3).
Sometimes, there are known vulnerabilities in a building, such as a leaky roof, a place that gets wet during driving rainstorms, or a specific risk like a roofing project or installation of a sprinkler system. Covering vulnerable collections with tarps can be very helpful (figure 4). For a building with repeated water incidents, developing a log with leak maps is a good practice. Often, leaks create stains on architectural surfaces. New stains indicate new leaks, so it is important to distinguish old damage from new. One method includes circling stains on ceiling tiles with a permanent marker and writing the date next to the stain (figure 4). These record keeping activities also generate data to push for facility improvements that are often deferred for budget reasons.
Objects in cabinets, boxes, plastic bags, and exhibit cases have some degree of protection. Remember that a box without a lid can act like a bathtub for its contents during a water emergency. Keeping collections off the floor, even by merely an inch with small planks of foam, can avert damage. Rarely does a water incident involve a puddle deeper than 1”. If a leak does occur, tarping off the area and responding immediately to stop the ingress of water is urgent to limit the threat to collections (figure 6). Not only does water cause distortion and staining in many cases, but risk of mold is elevated when a water incident occurs. Sometimes an incident impacts only a few items, or collections are narrowly missed (figure 7). But occasionally a catastrophic event may occur impacting a large part of a collection (figure 8).
In the wee hours of August 17, 2009, rainwater flooded the collections of the Alaska State Archives in Juneau (figure 8). The building was in the process of having a new roof installed when a storm happened and blew the tarp off the roof. A debriefing meeting captured a timeline of the response, as well as a recap of challenges and lessons learned. The document is available as a pdf:
If a water incident occurs, time is of the essence to minimize the extent of damage to collections. Any heritage collection ought to have at least one copy of the so-called “Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel” handy to help guide prompt decisions and action (figure 9). This standard reference item is a key complement to any Emergency Preparedness Plan and can be purchased from a number of vendors online.
Questions? Contact Us! The Alaska State Museum has an outreach mandate to help provide advice and expertise to museum professionals and other caretakers of Alaskan material culture.
Email Ellen at ellen.carrlee@alaska.gov or fill out our online contact form.
