3.7. SR 02-03-19973.7.
'ity of
River
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
MEMORANDUM
Mayor & City Council
Pat Klaers, City Admini~t~r
February 3, 1997
Spring Flooding
A lot of people with local knowledge about Elk River's flooding history are
indicating that we are in for trouble in 1997 unless we receive a perfect
spring thaw. More likely than not, we can anticipate some localized flooding
and the situation could be very bad.
On Friday, 1/31/97, Emergency Preparedness Director Bruce West is meeting
with the po]ice and street departments and the county to begin preparations
for the "worst case scenario" for flooding in Elk River. Bruce and Phil will be
at this meeting on Monday to have some preliminary discussions with the
City Council about a potential flooding event this spring. A major area of
concern is the low point of Highway 10 (between the Chamber office and
UPA), the necessary detour routes around this area and how to notify the
public of this situation. The lift station on the north side of Highway 10 in
this vicinity is also a major concern and action will be taken to ensure its
continued ongoing operation. Another area of concern relates to homeowners
that live in the flood plain area of the Elk River especially, and to a certain
extent, the Mississippi River. The city's role in this regard will be one of
mostly notification and advance warning, and offering information on options
for actions that homeowners can take. The third area of concern is surface
water issues for homeowners. The city should warn homeowners that they
could have wet basements this spring and provide information on where
pumps can be located to help protect their property. The city does not have
pumps available for homeowners to use and, if we did loan out the one or two
that we have, we will be short of our equipment when we need it and could
be accused of playing favoritism toward certain individuals. With the
homeowners and surface water issues, the best we can do is provide advance
warning and information on alternative actions they can take or resources
that they can use.
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13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 ° Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425