News
Heavy rains cause trouble in area
Scott Wagar
07/08/2014
With the large abundance of rain at the end of June in Bottineau County, local residents have seen roads cut to save homes from flood waters, roads and bridges under water, crops damaged, houses and barns submerged by water and individuals filling sandbags up quickly in hopes to save their homes.
INFRASTRUCTURE
According to Ritch Gimble, road superintendent for Bottineau County, eight roads have been cut through the Antler area to drain water away from local farmsteads to save them from flooding.
The Antler area, which includes Lansford, saw close to nine inches of rain. That area is seeing flood waters running over state, county and township roads which have caused extensive damage to the roads and have closed down a number of thoroughfares because they are unsafe to travel on. Early last week, the county closed all county roads to trucks, but as the heavy rains stopped the county officials opened the roads to trucks once again.
Gimble added that 12 bridges in the county are underwater with one bridge that has seen severe damage to its structure due to the flooding.
CROP LAND
Jared Nelson, NDSU extension agent for Bottineau County, stated that with the large amount of rain there are crops in the western part of the county that have standing water in their fields, which could cause nitrogen leaching and disease.
With the additional water on the crops, it is estimated that around 25 percent of county ag producers might have to apply for prevented plant payments.
LAKE METIGOSHE
At Lake Metigoshe, which saw around eight to nine inches of rain, the water had started coming ashore and many local docks are underwater. Lake officials have called for a no wake zone on the entire lake to keep water from rushing up the shore and possibly into homes and cabins. The boards were pulled at the lake’s dam on the south side, which as of late last week saw 12 inches of water running over the top of dam. With the dam open, water in Oak Creek has come up a number of feet with some areas seeing water run over its creek bed.
BOTTINEAU
Bottineau, which saw over five inches of rain, had local residents near the creek having to start sand bagging to protect their homes from water that is right up to the top of the creek bed and in some instances creating and running into their backyards.
Creek water at McBain Park in Bottineau has already crested with about half of the park flooded and one residential roadway closed to running water over the roadway.
DECLARATION
With the heavy rains in the state causing chaos in the state, Governor Jack Dalymple this past Thursday declared a flood emergency for flooded lands in northwestern and central North Dakota.
Dalrymple’s emergency declaration can grant state resources to assist county, city and tribal jurisdictions with damages to public infrastructure.
“Recent flooding in several counties continues to cause damage to local and state roadways and to other public infrastructures,” Dalrymple said. “We will continue to work with local officials to provide assistance in keeping access open.”
“At the same time, we will make sure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture understands the challenges faced by many area farmers who haven’t been able to plant crops and by those suffering from crop losses due to flooding and excessive moisture,” Dalrymple added.
Bottineau County is included in this list of counties and on Thursday morning Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley made a visit to Bottineau County to assess the damage that has been done in the county due to the heavy rains and speak with local officials about assisting the county in the damages that are taking place with the flood waters.
Making the trip with Wrigley included Maj. General David Sprynczynatyk, director of the state Department of Emergency Services and Darcy Rosendahl, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation.
The primary discussion between the two entities was about receiving federal funding to assist the county in making the repairs they will have to take care of once the water recedes.
Wrigley encouraged local officials to document the cost of damages in detail, which will assist the county in being eligible for federal money.
To qualify for federal assistance, the state has to have at least $1 million in damage to public infrastructure. At that time, the president can then call for a state of emergency for the flood waters, which will then get the ball rolling in providing federal disaster money.
Wrigley, who was given an aerial tour of Bottineau County on Thursday morning, stated that from what he saw from the air, Bottineau County should easily be eligible for disaster funding.