Posted: 8/28/07
Flood issues aired at August 21 Houston County Board meeting
By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
The bulk of the August 21 Houston County Commissioners meeting centered around the torrential rains and subsequent flooding that hit the area August 18 and 19.
County Highway Engineer Marcus Evans and Highway Maintenance Superintendent Tom Molling apprised the county board of the state of the county and township roads and bridges following the record-breaking deluge.
Molling reported the county had every department employee putting in as much time as humanly possible during the first few days following the storm to clear roads of mud, rocks, trees, and make as many roads passable as soon as possible.
"Our first priority was to get one lane open, in case we needed to get emergency vehicles into an area, and to make it possible for persons living in those areas that had been cut off able to get out," Molling said. "Once we get one lane of traffic open on most of the roads, we will go back and open them up for two lanes of traffic."
Evans added the flash floods destroyed several bridges, took out entire chunks of roadway, and undermined numerous roads and bridges.
"Weíre going to have to inspect just about every bridge in the county," Evans said. "We will start with the county bridges on the north side of the county, then the township bridges in the north half. Once those inspections are completed, we will move to the south side of the county, which didnít receive as much rain, and do the county bridges first, and then the township bridges."
Evans said he had contacted Mn/DOT and requested as many inspectors as could be spared to begin the lengthy process. He reported Mn/DOT would be sending five inspectors to Houston County initially, and possibly more later.
"The county highway system sustained substantial damage in the norther half of the county," Evans said. "Itís going to take a lot of time and money to repair what was torn apart over the weekend."
"Iíd like to thank all of our highway employees, private contractors and volunteers who worked ëround the clock to help us open up as many roads as we have," Molling added. "We wouldnít be this far along if it hadnít been for all the volunteers."
Sheriff Doug Ely discussed some of the more serious rescue missions during the weekend and also reported two persons had perished in the floodwaters. He praised his officers, dispatchers, all of the area law enforcement, fire, and EMS personnel for their tireless efforts.
"If not for all of these people who went way beyond the call of duty, Iím sure we would have had more than two fatalities. When you go out and see just how much destruction was done, you will be amazed that there wasnít more loss of life," the sheriff said.
Bonnie Goetzinger reported the Salvation Army had arrived in Caledonia and was providing meals to residents in Hokah and Brownsville. She added the Red Cross was setting up shop in the Caledonia City Municipal building and representatives from FEMA would be arriving towards the end of the week.
Craig Schaffer of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency also addressed the county board. He reported his department would be working with solid waste contractors to set up sites where persons could get rid of flood-damaged building materials and belongings. He said his agency would be sending in five persons to work with the county on water and pollution issues.
"When you have this type of flooding and this much destruction to homes and vehicles, the potential for groundwater pollution is great," Schaffer said. "We will be spending as much time as needed to test wells, check streams and rivers and make sure we donít have pollution problems.
Commissioner Tom Bjerke asked Schaffer if they would be testing drinking water.
Schaffer replied if contaminants are found, his department will deal with them.
"For now, we are urging everyone living in an area that was flooded to use bottled water until it is determined their drinking water is safe," Schaffer added.
County EMS Director Kurt Kuhlers said three FEMA emergency managers would be arriving in Caledonia on August 23 to help with paperwork. He added Red Cross caseworkers had already conducted 300-plus damage assessments by the end of Monday, August 20. The Red Cross is conducting damage assessments to private property. Township and county officials are required to conduct the assessments on roads and bridges.
Kuhlers also said the National Guard was conducting home-to-home searches in the hardest hit areas to make sure there werenít any persons trapped in their homes.
"We got a long ways to go, but weíve also made an awful lot of progress in the first 72 hours. It was a very big help having you county commissioners here over the weekend to make some of the tough decisions that needed to be made," Kuhlers concluded.
Resolutions approved
A special county board meeting was called on Thursday, August 23 to pass two important flood-related resolutions.
The first was to approve the Houston County Environmental Services Department to establish staging areas to collect and dispose of flood damaged materials at no cost beginning Tuesday, August 21 and ending Saturday, Sept. 8.
The second was a resolution requesting the Governor of Minnesota to petition President George Bush to declare Houston County a major disaster area. The resolution was sent on to Governor Tim Pawlenty and late Thursday, President Bush declared the flood-damaged counties in southeast Minnesota, including Houston County, a federal disaster area.
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