Cottonwood, Minnesota rivers on the rise again

City crews keep close watch on dike at South

Valley Street

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Four inches of weekend rainfall between New Ulm and Marshall is driving the Minnesota and Cottonwood rivers near their crests of last week.

New Ulm Street Superintendent Tom Patterson and his crews are back to their battle stations. Barricades were put up on the Poor Farm Road, (Cottonwood Street) south of New Ulm Monday.

Patterson is particularly concerned about the Cottonwood bridge, fearing water could reach the bridge girders.

The Cottonwood is expected to crest at 17.4 feet Wednesday in New Ulm, then slowly drop, according to the National Weather Service. It measured 10.7 feet Monday, up 2.2 feet in 24 hours.

Patterson said his crews will prepare for even higher water than the expected crest.

"We always take the most pessimistic look, so we are ready for the worst," Patterson said.

The Minnesota is expected to reach 807.4 feet Friday before slowly sinking.

Patterson said his crews will closely watch the clay and stone dikes on South Valley Street, between 17th and 18th streets, where water seeped through last week.

"We found some slumping and cracking at the edges of the dike," Patterson said. "Since they were very slippery and hazardous to work on Monday, we thought it would be a good idea leave them alone Monday, in hopes that the wind would dry them."

One of the goals of the city crews is to protect city storm sewers so they don't back up from the infiltration of river and storm water.

"We're working hard to keep the river at bay," Patterson said. "So far we've succeeded. We can't give up now."

The Minnesota will rise within one foot of its high point last week from Granite Falls to Savage.

The Redwood River at Redwood Falls is expected to rise 5 or 6 feet, cresting at 10 1/2 feet.

The main effect of the weekend rain is that it will prolong flood stages on many rivers for up to three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that a spring storm sent wintery reminders to Minnesota residents.

Much of northern and west-central Minnesota were recovering Monday from a spring storm that felt much more like winter.

Bemidji residents coped with a foot of wet snow. Most of Duluth and all of its commercial television stations lost power, and scattered schools throughout the region were closed by the storm.

Trees were knocked down by ice in St. Louis, Lake and Carlton counties in northeastern Minnesota and travel was restricted over much of the area.

Airlines suspended service at Duluth and passengers were bused to the Twin Cities. But Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport also had many flights delayed by heavy rain that spread over southern Minnesota, and was still catching up Monday.

The rain, which began falling Sunday and continued into Monday, also caused basement and street flooding in some areas and kept river communities on alert, but the states' major rivers seemed stable or rose only slightly.

Localized flooding and sewer backups were reported in Marshall, where Public Safety Director Rob Yant asked residents to conserve water. The Marshall wastewater treatment plant was running about 8,300 gallons per minute, more than three times the normal rate.

At Granite Falls and Montevideo, the flood-weary towns were preparing for levels to rise again later this week after Sunday's heavy rainfall.

West-central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota looked more like November on Monday, after 12 inches of new snow in Bemidji, and 6 to 10 inches throughout northwestern Minnesota before the heavy snow ended around noon.

Authorities said they had many reports of vehicles in ditches.

A flood warning remained in effect for the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix rivers in central and south-central Minnesota. Flood warnings were also issued on the St. Louis and Snake rivers in northern Minnesota after 1 to 3 inches of rainfall.

In the wake of the rain came howling winds. A wind advisory was issued for Monday and Monday night for much of southern and western Minnesota, with winds from 25 to 45 miles per hour across the Minnesota River Valley and nearby areas.

Truck drivers were warned to drive with caution until the winds subsided in the evening.

AP-DS-04-23-01 1522EDT