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It's that time of year again....time for flooding on the Mississippi River.
An annual event for a town along the Mississippi and probably most rivers this time of year. So it's not really anything new for the town and after decades and centuries of flooding, we have our levees, our flood walls and our flood gates scattered about town. Flood gates are moveable "gates" that channel the creeks and tributaries feeding into the larger river. The gates are often placed over streets and roads and the gates are used to prevent the water from flooding adjacent areas.
To make things interesting this year, a storm blew into town bringing a bit of rain with it. 70 mph straight line winds. The kind of stuff that blows cars and semis off of the road. My wife and I were out of town traveling on interstate thinking we would out run the storm. Nope did not happen. The storm enveloped us and we decided to pull off rather than be blown off. We took an exit and got under the interstate hiding in an overpass.
After the heart of the storm passed, we drove on home to see acres and acres of corn fields flattened by the straight-line winds. Town looked wet with little rivers of water running down the streets, but nothing too major. We unloaded the car, unpacked the luggage and settled in to catch up on the mail, snail and electronic, and watch a little TV. And then the rain started again, but not much wind. A little downpour that seemed to be growing in intensity. Then sheets of water, then torrential water. When it was all over, 5 inches of rain had fallen in an hour or so to make the total for the day of 6 inches. Combined with the rain falling from here clear to the next state north somewhere in Minnesota, the Mississippi was headed to potentially record high levels.
How does this story concern detailing, you ask. Well I detail for a hobby and I rent a little space in an building that was once a car dealership and the building is a block from the river. Unfortunately, it gets flooded. Not something unexpected and much less severe than those areas on the east coast being flooded by hurricanes. A minor nuisance in comparison to the towns inundated by hurricanes or flattened by tornados. So this tale isn't about seeking sympathy, nor soliciting funds. It's a way of life, chosen by those wishing to enjoy watching the river flow by or those making a living off of the many jobs the river has offered over the years. Unfortunately, the river front area does not have a levee. A levee would interfere with the view of the river. Some river towns have levees on their "downtown" river fronts and other towns, like this one, do not.
This tale is about some of the things that go on in a small little river town along the Mississippi River during those seasonal increases in the river stage. The normal river level in our town is 16 feet. Today July 4th of 2014 the crest was just under 24 feet. So that means that water is creeping very close to entering the building and with luck a small sandbag barrier will keep the water at bay.
Here's a photo of the water approaching the little sandbag wall.
Between the building and the sand bags is a couple of pumps running to keep the water out of the building.
Here is a view out one of the garage doors.
A slightly different angle on the garage door.
This is an exterior view of the building, an old car dealership complete with display windows.
Usually some sandbags over here, but no so much this year. The owner of the building was out of town on
vacation prior to the flood and was able to make the usual preparations prior to the rising river began engulfing
the building.
A view of the other side of the building. The red line represents the water level. This is an example of
water reflections. That kind of reflection we all work towards when we polish a car. That perfectly clear, high
gloss reflection with that crystal clarity.
Here's the inside of the work area in the the back of the building. This is where I keep supplies, tools and detail cars. The wash bay is clear in the back on the right hand side, behind that short masonry wall.
Expecting the worst, everything is moved out of the building or put up in the air. The water is entering the
building and headed to the floor drain. Won't be long the drain will be fill and the water will begin to accumulate.
A new method of mobile detailing service. Just roll the scaffolding to the job.
Up in the air should keep most of the miscellaneous out of the water.
Outside on the railroad tracks, these two machines are at work. A set of railroad tracks run parallel to the river.
Usually the tracks are raised before the flood occurs. This year the tracks weren't raised before the flood, so
the train crews needed to work in the water.
The machine on the right smooths out loads of ballast rock dumped on the tracks and the machine on the left
raises the track and vibrates the ballast below the ties as the track is raised 3 inches each pass of the equipment.
The tracks must be no lower than three inches below the water. If the water is too deep the electric motors
of a train's engine will short out. While the engine in an train engine or locomotive is diesel,
the actual drive motors are electric and will short out if submerged.
The train equipment traveling on the tracks causes a wake in the water which over flows the sandbag
barrier and eventually topples over the quickly built sandbag barrier. The front door was opened and the water is allowed to run into the building. The building has a basement and the sump pump
is turned off and the basement is allowed to fill with water. Less chance of a foundation failure if the pressure
is equalized on both sides of the foundation wall.
As the water enters the front showroom area, it begins to run into the back workroom area of the building.
By the end of the next day, the water has filled the building to a a depth of three feet. This photograph shows
the water level in the building. Again the reflections on the water make the photo hard to understand.
The red line represents the water level. At the far end is a garage door and it's reflection.
It will be awhile before the river drops to a level where the building can be washed out. Flood insurance should
cover most of the repair and clean up work.
An annual event for a town along the Mississippi and probably most rivers this time of year. So it's not really anything new for the town and after decades and centuries of flooding, we have our levees, our flood walls and our flood gates scattered about town. Flood gates are moveable "gates" that channel the creeks and tributaries feeding into the larger river. The gates are often placed over streets and roads and the gates are used to prevent the water from flooding adjacent areas.
To make things interesting this year, a storm blew into town bringing a bit of rain with it. 70 mph straight line winds. The kind of stuff that blows cars and semis off of the road. My wife and I were out of town traveling on interstate thinking we would out run the storm. Nope did not happen. The storm enveloped us and we decided to pull off rather than be blown off. We took an exit and got under the interstate hiding in an overpass.
After the heart of the storm passed, we drove on home to see acres and acres of corn fields flattened by the straight-line winds. Town looked wet with little rivers of water running down the streets, but nothing too major. We unloaded the car, unpacked the luggage and settled in to catch up on the mail, snail and electronic, and watch a little TV. And then the rain started again, but not much wind. A little downpour that seemed to be growing in intensity. Then sheets of water, then torrential water. When it was all over, 5 inches of rain had fallen in an hour or so to make the total for the day of 6 inches. Combined with the rain falling from here clear to the next state north somewhere in Minnesota, the Mississippi was headed to potentially record high levels.
How does this story concern detailing, you ask. Well I detail for a hobby and I rent a little space in an building that was once a car dealership and the building is a block from the river. Unfortunately, it gets flooded. Not something unexpected and much less severe than those areas on the east coast being flooded by hurricanes. A minor nuisance in comparison to the towns inundated by hurricanes or flattened by tornados. So this tale isn't about seeking sympathy, nor soliciting funds. It's a way of life, chosen by those wishing to enjoy watching the river flow by or those making a living off of the many jobs the river has offered over the years. Unfortunately, the river front area does not have a levee. A levee would interfere with the view of the river. Some river towns have levees on their "downtown" river fronts and other towns, like this one, do not.
This tale is about some of the things that go on in a small little river town along the Mississippi River during those seasonal increases in the river stage. The normal river level in our town is 16 feet. Today July 4th of 2014 the crest was just under 24 feet. So that means that water is creeping very close to entering the building and with luck a small sandbag barrier will keep the water at bay.
Here's a photo of the water approaching the little sandbag wall.
Between the building and the sand bags is a couple of pumps running to keep the water out of the building.
Here is a view out one of the garage doors.
A slightly different angle on the garage door.
This is an exterior view of the building, an old car dealership complete with display windows.
Usually some sandbags over here, but no so much this year. The owner of the building was out of town on
vacation prior to the flood and was able to make the usual preparations prior to the rising river began engulfing
the building.
A view of the other side of the building. The red line represents the water level. This is an example of
water reflections. That kind of reflection we all work towards when we polish a car. That perfectly clear, high
gloss reflection with that crystal clarity.
Here's the inside of the work area in the the back of the building. This is where I keep supplies, tools and detail cars. The wash bay is clear in the back on the right hand side, behind that short masonry wall.
Expecting the worst, everything is moved out of the building or put up in the air. The water is entering the
building and headed to the floor drain. Won't be long the drain will be fill and the water will begin to accumulate.
A new method of mobile detailing service. Just roll the scaffolding to the job.
Up in the air should keep most of the miscellaneous out of the water.
Outside on the railroad tracks, these two machines are at work. A set of railroad tracks run parallel to the river.
Usually the tracks are raised before the flood occurs. This year the tracks weren't raised before the flood, so
the train crews needed to work in the water.
The machine on the right smooths out loads of ballast rock dumped on the tracks and the machine on the left
raises the track and vibrates the ballast below the ties as the track is raised 3 inches each pass of the equipment.
The tracks must be no lower than three inches below the water. If the water is too deep the electric motors
of a train's engine will short out. While the engine in an train engine or locomotive is diesel,
the actual drive motors are electric and will short out if submerged.
The train equipment traveling on the tracks causes a wake in the water which over flows the sandbag
barrier and eventually topples over the quickly built sandbag barrier. The front door was opened and the water is allowed to run into the building. The building has a basement and the sump pump
is turned off and the basement is allowed to fill with water. Less chance of a foundation failure if the pressure
is equalized on both sides of the foundation wall.
As the water enters the front showroom area, it begins to run into the back workroom area of the building.
By the end of the next day, the water has filled the building to a a depth of three feet. This photograph shows
the water level in the building. Again the reflections on the water make the photo hard to understand.
The red line represents the water level. At the far end is a garage door and it's reflection.
It will be awhile before the river drops to a level where the building can be washed out. Flood insurance should
cover most of the repair and clean up work.
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