(Spirit Lake)– When it comes to flooding this spring, the question isn’t IF there will be one, but how bad it will be. That was the message Dickinson County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Ehret had Tuesday for the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors.
Ehret presented data that is based on the more than 30 inches of snow currently on the ground along with any additional snow likely to fall yet this season and any rain that may come on top of that.
Ehret says lake levels right now are eerily similar to those at this same time in 1993. Record rains that spring and early summer brought severe flooding to the Iowa Great Lakes. He says Big Spirit Lake is nearly 15 inches over it’s normal level for this time of year, while the lower lakes are about 10 inches over what they should be right now.
Ehret says the 30 inches or snow on the ground has a water equivalent of about 6.2 inches. Ehret says based on a worse-case scenario with a rapid melt, it would bring lake levels very close to those experienced in the 1993 flood. Ehret also based that prediction on information from hydrologists with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls.
Based on long range outlooks, Ehret says it looks right now like the worst flooding should occur in the first or second week of April.
He says the severity depends on several variables, including additional precipitation, rate of snow melt and frost depth. If there’s a bright spot to any of that, Ehret says it’s the fact there’s very little to no frost in the ground, so he says that should allow atleast some of the melt to go into the ground. But he says that will likely be minimal because the ground was already saturated going into the winter from heavy rains last October.
Ehret says his office is working closely with Emergency Management officials on the regional and state levels. He says they’ve been busy identifying critical assets along with developing plans to protect them.
Ehret says 60-thousand sandbags are due to be shipped to the area next week. He says they’re also putting in requests for pumps and other equipment.
Ehret says he’s also contacting officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He says they want to establish procedures that would be followed based on certain levels the lakes reach.
Ehret says his office has also been in contact with the American Red Cross which is procuring flood clean-up kits.
Ehret urges homeowners who live in flood prone areas to make sure their flood insurance policies are up to date. He says those that live in such areas that don’t have flood insurance should look into it very soon. Ehret says there’s typically a 30-day wait for such policies to be issued.
Ehret urges homeowners to take time now, in advance of any flooding, to move valuables out of basements. He says it’s also a good idea to make sure your sump pump is working properly and drains where it’s supposed to.
Officials say if you have a large amount of snow up close to your house, to try to move it away from the foundation.
