Posted: 2/8/05
Ice dam clogs Root River; wastewater treatment plant disabled
Ice dam clogs Root River; wastewater treatment plant disabled
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The Root River was an immobile river of ice on Sunday and Monday.
Snowmelt from a stretch of unseasonably warm weather, combined with steady rain on Sunday, caused water to rise and ice to jam under bridges in the city and further downstream at Highway 26.
That backed water up, threatening businesses and shutting down Hokahís wastewater treatment plant. Highways 16 and 44 for 1-1/2 miles around Hokah were closed Sunday night and Monday morning. A motorist drove her car into the water. The car was disabled but the driver was not hurt. Traffic was re-routed through Brownsville.
The Junction Inn had a close call with the water on Sunday. Owner Frank Kimball, 37, was keeping an eye on a nearby creek that afternoon.
ěPeople stopped in and said that the bridge was jammed up with ice,î he said. That brought the creek up quickly. The Junction Inn was suddenly up the creek in more ways than one.
Thatís when Hokahís famous spirit of cooperation kicked in. Truck drivers brought in loads of sand and equipment to move it with. Volunteer fire fighters, friends, even passers-by, stopped by to grab shovels and help fill and stack sandbags around the building.
ěLots and lots of very friendly and helpful people,î an exhausted Kimball said the next morning.
The water was receding by then, and he seemed cautiously optimistic that things would be OK. He hopes there is not another sudden warmup.
Kimball kept the restaurant closed on Monday, but said it would be back to normal by February 8. It would have been flooded without the help.
The ice dam and flood also created problems at the cityís wastewater treatment plant. ěLast night we had to shut it down completely,î maintenance worker Keith Lewis, 40, said on Monday morning.
He looked about as tired as Frank Kimball. ěI slept for an hour and a half,î he said.
He said the treatment plant will have to be bypassed until the water goes down. ěItís going slow but itís going down,î he said.
Lewis said the plant was running fine at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Then the ice jam formed. ěWithin an hour it was completely backed up,î he said.
The treatment plant will be manned 24 hours a day. Its two raw wastewater pumps are running so that nothing backs up into the homes in the lower part of town, he said. They have extra pumps on hand in case of a breakdown.
ěItís kind of holding its own right now,î Lewis said with the trace of a smile. ěIím a little surprised.î
ěIíve been doing this for 21 years and Iíve never seen it this bad,î he added
Kristine Hernandez, a public information officer for MnDOT, said that her department was short-handed when the emergency arose because drivers were plowing roads. She praised local fire fighters for their volunteer efforts.
There isnít much that MnDOT can do about the ice jam, Hernandez said.
This is the second time the river has flooded within the past year, she added.
Mn/DOT maintenance crews will remain on the scene, cleaning ice jams near the roadway and assisting with traffic control as needed.
For statewide road congestion and weather information, dial 511 or log into 511mn.org.
Caledonia Argus
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Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com