Mankato Free Press staff writer Tim Krohn reports in Flood walls a sight for sore, dry eyes:
. . .The nearly three miles of concrete flood walls and rip-rap down the banks makes ours the ugliest stretch of river along its 335-mile route.
But for anyone who’s lived in the two cities since the flood-control project was officially completed in 1987, the unsightly levees look pretty sweet when the river rages. . . .. . .Turning to Congress, the cities got flood-control funding approved, but the bill was vetoed by President Eisenhower. Funding was finally approved in 1958 — but construction would not come in time for the 1965 flood.
North Mankato enlisted thousands of volunteers who built an earthen dike and piled 1 million sandbags — an effort that worked and spared the city the devastation it had seen 14 years earlier. Mankato wasn’t as fortunate, as water flooded the low-lying area around Mankato (West) High School and the Sibley Park area.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which, if nothing else, thinks big, originally proposed building a major dam on the river to control the crest through Mankato. Farmers and residents of small towns that would have been behind the dam — and under water — were not impressed with the idea.
The Corps finally settled on the current design and began work in the ’70s.
As a blogger of a certain age, I remember that flood in 1965, climbing to the highest bluff near St. Peter to look down at the waters surging through the broad flood plain. To my childish imagination, it seemed like the glacial River Warren that first carved the broad, high-bluff Minnesota River Valley had returned with the spring snow melt. Unlike this year, the frost in the ground was deep and tenacious, and a prolonged downpour that followed the famous St. Pat's Day blizzard were the flood disaster trifecta for Southern Minnesota.
And that dam? It was actually proposed for the Blue Earth River--and would have been an environmental disaster, given the geology of the area and the complicated watershed. Because of the presence of the Blue Earth River system, Blue Earth County has the most miles of rivers and streams of any county in Minnesota. There were plenty of us downstream who objected to the Corps' plan; for me, organizing against it was my first exposure to citizen activism.
Krohn is right about the flood project changing the face of the river in Mankato. And the concern this year isn't abstract. A Pioneer Press headline from late last month is typical: Minnesota's spring flood forecast growing more dire:
Think all this snow is a hassle? Wait until it melts.
Emergency management officials are preparing for significant flooding across Minnesota this spring — a result of fall rains and heavy winter snowfall — and advising at-risk homeowners to buy flood insurance.
"Every river in the state of Minnesota is at risk this year, and that's not something we normally see," Dan Luna of the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen said Thursday.
Luna said water levels along the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers are expected to rise as high as last year or higher. He added there is a possibility of flooding as severe as the spring of 2001.
That spring, the Mississippi crested twice above 23 feet in St. Paul — the highest levels since the 1960s.
Turning north, the Grand Forks Herald reports that Roseau will have to wait to secure flood migration from Congress. Like Mankato, which sought migration after a flood in 1951, Roseau will be held hostage by politics, Ryan Bakken reports in Roseau, Minn., to wait for flood protection:
Residents of Roseau, Minn., knew they would have two more years of fretting during flood season.
But, with gridlock in the U.S. Congress, they may have more. Even under the best scenario, their wait for protection after flood catastrophe will be 10 years. . . .
Residents hoped that the flood control project, with a diversion as its centerpiece, would be finished in late 2012. It still could be, if Congress passes an appropriations bill this year and next.
Roseau was scheduled to receive $5 million this year and $10 million next year, which would have been enough to complete the work.
But Congress may not pass an appropriations bill this year. If it doesn’t, Roseau would receive less than $2 million, which would delay the completion by at least a year.
A finished project is expected to cost $36 million, with the federal government supplying $19 million, the state $16 million and the city of Roseau $1 million.
The diversion is about one-fourth done. Until it’s completed, it won’t offer any flood relief to the city.
And with the earmark ban in place, the city can't ask for help from its congressman.
On the state level, funding for flood-related matters may get into an even deeper hole. In GOP tries to take first bite out of state deficit, Don Davis reported:
The bill even puts disaster relief money approved in a special October legislative session, for 2010 floods and tornadoes, in peril Rep. Kory Kath, DFL-Owatonna, warned. Holberg did not argue.
More from MPR here.
The Associated Press reported:
The GOP bills don’t say what they would cut. But The Associated Press got information Tuesday from six state agencies with nearly $70 million in unspent money set aside for programs including disaster aid to communities ravaged by floods and tornadoes last year, emergency grants for veterans and financial aid for college students, including National Guard members, already starting their spring semesters.
Yes, the Republicans now in power are considering reneging on relief for 2010 flood and tornadoes. The relief measures were passed unanimously by both houses in last fall's special session. Kath was the chief author of the legislation in the House, since his district was particularly hard hit by the floods.
Kath's remarks in the January 27 House floor debate begin at the 1:35:23 mark.
Photo: An aerial view of the Mankato area during the Flood of 1965, via the Minnesota River Basin Data Center.
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