Crest

expected today in New Ulm

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--The good news is the National Weather Service Sunday reaffirmed its forecast that the Minnesota River is expected to crest today at 808.5 feet.

The bad news is that the river gave city officials some anxious moments during the weekend and is going to be slow in dropping.

The predicted crest, if realized, will be 2.5 feet below the crest in 1997, making the flood of 2001 in New Ulm another one for the record books.

Downstream action by the river is equally dramatic. Mankato is looking at the second highest crest on record, second only to 1993. The crest at Henderson will be the third highest, topped only by crests in 1965 and 1993. The crest at Jordan will tie the crest of 1993 for second highest honors, exceeded only by the 1965 crest.

Obviously, this year's flood was not to be taken lightly, and the city didn't. It paid off because the anxious moments were kept to a minimum.

The anxiety level rose for some residents this weekend as the river, in a 24-hour period Saturday and Sunday, rose at a rate of 1 inch per hour, Street Commissioner Tom Patterson reported. By mid-day Sunday, the river had reached 807.3 feet, 2 feet higher than it was the day before.

"It really came up," Patterson said. "Fortunately, the weather bureau hasn't changed its forecast (for crest level) so we should be all right."

But it will be a while before the river returns to normal; at least the NWS forecast for the rest of the week indicates it will take until Friday to lose the 2 feet of water that the river gained in just 24 hours. By Friday, if the weather holds, the river should be down to 806.1 feet, a mere 10 feet above flood stage.

The first anxious moment occurred Saturday when water began bubbling up between the newly created dike and Perry Johnson's home at 1725 S. Valley. It appeared that an underground drainage tile had cracked. At first city crews used sump pumps to try to keep the water under control, but then they had to install another berm behind the original berm that covered the area where the water was coming up out of the ground. An extension of that berm wound around behind Johnson's home, giving him added protection in case the first berm gave way.

"He's at the lowest point along Valley so the pressure from the river is tremendous there," Patterson said. "We didn't want to take any chances." Because the river makes a slight bend, the result is greater pressure toward the outside of the bend.

Then, at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, city crews were called to 13th South and Front Street by two homeowners who were growing concerned about the rising water behind their homes. "The rest of the morning we sandbagged both houses to protect them," Patterson said. "I did manage to get home in time to eat Easter dinner with my family."

However, the river was still at bay, despite the rising level, Sunday evening. The river did pour over the road entering Minnecon Park and appeared to be threatening U.S. Highway 14 just before the turnoff onto the Highways 15/14 bridge. Water also was moving up close to the roadway at one end of the Nicollet County 37 bridge.

Downstream it is a different story. U.S. Highway 169 and State Highway 22 were to be closed at 6 p.m. Sunday between Mankato and St. Peter because of rising water from the Minnesota River. Traffic is being detoured from Mankato west on Highway 14 to Nicollet, then north on Highway 111 and east on Highway 99 to St. Peter.

Earlier in the day, State Highway 295 to the Regional Treatment Center in St. Peter was closed when water poured over both lanes of highway. The highway is closed off at U.S. HIghway 169 to the bottom hospital road.

Five other highways in the area remain closed. They are State Highway 19 from Highway 169 to Henderson, State Highway 93 from Highway 169 to Henderson and from Highway 169 to LeSueur, State Highway 4 at the north edge of Sleepy Eye, and State Highway 99 east of St. Peter. These roads have been closed for up to 10 days.