Turkey River flooding hits county
Sandbagging efforts were underway on Thursday evening as the Elkport-Garber area prepared for the Turkey River crest. Above, volunteers worked in the Farmer's Savings Bank parking lot in Elkport. The river crested at Garber Friday evening at approximately 6.6 feet above flood stage. (Press photo by Melissa Spielbauer Combs)
By Shelia Tomkins
Clayton County residents fought a rapidly rising Turkey River this past week, following torrential rains in the river's watershed to the north on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
Rainfall reports from Winneshiek, Allamakee and Fayette counties on Tuesday and Wednesday put officials on alert for flash flooding. Some areas near Decorah received a reported 6-7 inches in a short amount of time, with the runoff flowing into streams and tributaries that feed into the Turkey River. Clayton County Emergency Management Director Sarah Moser helped coordinate the local response to the flash flood threat.
The National Weather Service and local emergency management officials monitored gauges on the Turkey River as the crest made its way downstream. The crest caused major flooding in the Clermont-Elgin area before heading downstream to Elkader, where a community sandbagging effort helped mitigate the damage caused by rising waters (See story p. 3). The crest at Elkader came on Friday, Aug. 26, at 22.57 feet; flood stage there is 12 feet. The record crest at Elkader is 27.7 feet in 2008.
The Garber area was next to feel the effects of the crest that arrived at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Friday evening, Aug. 27, when the river level reached 23.6 feet. The crest was 6.6 feet above flood stage of 17 feet, but well under the record at Garber of 32.8 feet set in 2004, due in part to the fact that the Volga River tributary felt only minor effects of rainstorms earlier in the week. Elkport-Garber volunteers stepped up to help with sandbagging at the Anchor Inn, Farmer's Savings Bank and Sears station. Over the weekend, the river continued to drop rapidly, despite additional rain on Saturday. See additional photos inside.
Osterdock and Millville were next in line for the river's crest. Residents watched a swift-moving river filled with trees and other debris slowly rise over the weekend, covering bottom land and affecting travel on portions of secondary county roads. Roads closed included the following in the Osterdock area: Kiln Road, Kale Avenue, Mesquite Road, Marengo Road, and Laser Road. Near Millville Noble Road and the ferry landing road were closed. Lower Cedar Road near Garber was also closed. Roads were scheduled to remain closed until damage could be assessed and repaired.
The railroad bridge east of Millville was threatened late last week by river debris and an eroding bank. Crews and heavy equipment were sent in to stabilize the bridge.
Even the Mississippi River at Guttenberg showed effects of the rains in Northeast Iowa and Southwest Wisconsin. Late last week, river levels rose nearly two feet in three days, before cresting at 13.56 feet at 9 p.m. on Aug. 27. Flood stage at Guttenberg is 15 feet.
On Thursday, Governor Terry Branstad declared Clayton County, along with four other counties, disaster areas, making them eligible for state programs.
