LEWISTON – Heavy rains last weekend caused a sewer line to back up and overflow into a Farwell Elementary School portable classroom.

The building was closed and its occupants – a class of kindergartners – were shifted to another portable classroom on school grounds.

The problem started last weekend when rain water from the roof drained into the sewer system, according to Maintenance Director Paul Caron. The sewer system filled with water, backing up a toilet and causing water to overflow into the building.

The water soaked the floor about 15 feet around the toilet. Workers spent this week ripping up wet carpeting. They hope to install new flooring by the end of the week.

The kindergarten class was moved into a portable building that had served as the school’s library. The class could be back in its old home as early as Monday.

Caron said the cleanup would likely cost several thousand dollars. He blamed the incident, in part, on Farwell’s aging sewer system.

Lewiston officials hope to have the 50-year-old school torn down and replaced with a new facility on the same site. Voters must approve that plan in a referendum this winter.