JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A town hall forum Monday provided some more information on the current flooding state of Jamestown and Stutsman County.
State officials including Governor Doug Burgum, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and others were on hand to hear the latest from producers, farmers, residents, as well as city and county leaders.
Mayor Dwaine Heinrich stated that the significant blizzard that dropped around 17 inches of snow, on top of the already record amount of rainfall, led the city to believe they would be facing flooding conditions in the following days. Heinrich stated that one of the first things that happened was a phone call from Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney.
65,000 sandbags were placed along the James River in preparation of rising waters due to increased releases from both the Jamestown Reservoir and Pipestem Dam. Currently, combined releases sit at 1,800 cfs. Heinrich pointed out that sandbagging would prepare the river for an increase to 2,400 cfs combined.
With inflows into the dams at around 5,700 cfs, Heinrich stated that 2,400 cfs releases would not be enough to evacuate both systems by freeze.
Heinrich says if they need to go beyond 2,400 cfs, there will be a dire need of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide assistance.
Because of the potential increase, Heinrich says lift stations may become inundated with water and extra measures would have to be taken.
Stutsman County Commission Chairman Mark Klose stated that countywide, roads were a primary concern. He stated that just today, they had three roads go under water.
He stated that it was critical that money to do these jobs was astronomical and the size of the county would require a lot of dollars to fix the roads.
JSDC Executive Director Connie Ova brought up the concern of employers and employees possibly being unable to make it into Jamestown with the deteriorating roads.
Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist pointed out that they have never seen the amount of moisture they’ve seen at this time of the year is unprecedented.
Bergquist reports that Pipestem Dam is currently 24 feet above its wintertime elevation. Jamestown Reservoir is around 7 feet above the threshold.
Bergquist says we could be looking at something “very catastrophic” come spring.
Governor Doug Burgum added that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently has not models to describe the best steps to take to evacuate the local dams.
Listen to the whole town hall below: