Here’s the bad news: The city of St. Paul is preparing for what could be a record flood this spring — a 50/50 chance that the Mississippi River will rise to a height of more than 26.4 feet. If that happens, thousands of people would be forced to temporarily relocate from Lowertown and the Upper Landing.
And the good news: City officials have been preparing for a major flood event since the fall, working with everyone from the Red Cross to businesses that store hazardous materials to prepare for an emergency situation that has quickly moved from “if” to “when.”
A normal river height for the Mississippi in St. Paul is four feet.
The National Weather Service predicts a 70 percent chance of a major flood, with waters exceeding 17 feet. City officials are sending out letters to residents today in flood-plain areas of Lowertown and the Upper Landing apprising them of the situation and urging them to find an alternate place to stay and store their pets and vehicles if they are asked to temporarily relocate.
The at-risk areas span 618 residential units, or 2,200 to 2,500 people in about 60 buildings. That includes seven blocks of Lowertown.
The city has launched a Website with a graph showing the river’s height, road closures, and other flood-related information, updated daily: www.stpaul.gov/floodprep
“I am in the ‘bad day’ business,” said Richard Larkin, director of the city’s department of emergency management. “I am not going to tell you ‘we’re ready for anything.’ … (But) we’re very serious about this… and we have been focused on this since the fall.”
The river is at 4.21 feet as of 10:15 a.m. The “minor flood stage” occurs when the river rises to 14 feet. At that point, the city would issue daily flood e-mail updates for staff and media. Water Street would be closed, and Lilydale Park would begin to become submerged.
The “major flood stage” occurs at 17 feet. Secondary floodwalls would be deployed to the St. Paul airport.
At 17.5 feet, waters would begin to submerge Harriet Island.
At 18 feet, Shepard / Warner Road may become impassable.
The Mississippi crested at 23.8 feet in 2001, the third-highest flood level on record in St. Paul. The city also dealt with two significant flooding events last year, one in March and the other in September.
In 1996, the city worked with the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers to create a 33-foot floodwall on the West Side, well above the “flood of record” of 1965, which reached 26.4 feet.
Michael Hahm, parks and recreation director, said the 17 miles of Mississippi River in St. Paul are lined with parks, “essentially engineered with the idea that they will flood at some point.”
In a largely administrative move, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman declared a “state of local emergency” Monday, allowing the city to begin tracking flood-related planning expenses, with the expectation of being able to recoup some of those dollars from state and federal sources down the road. The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners made a similar declaration at its regular board meeting on Tuesday.
Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.
