Flooding front and center

Several local residents, along with local and county officials, were present to address the major flooding that occurred on May 11 during the New Richland City Council’s second meeting of the month on Monday, May 22. The meeting was held in the community room to accommodate the large number of guests: following discussions with officials, the council took questions and heard concerns from community members.

“What happened here was a significant rainfall event that overwhelmed the city,” said Lance Loverink from the MN Rural Water Association. “It is a terrible event, and I’m very sorry it happened, but there is only so much that the city can do.”

Loverink explained that the wastewater system is engineered to take a only certain amount of water.

“When you get rainfall like that, there’s virtually nothing that can be done other than pumping directly out of the manholes, which we did,” he said.

Loverink stated that local officials made use of an emergency response trailer, pumping a couple thousand gallons of water per minute out of numerous manholes in an attempt to relieve pressure from the overwhelmed sewer system. The pumping took place over roughly two days.

Loverink did have a suggestion for residents to reduce backup in basements, which is to insert a 3- to 4-foot tall vertical PVC pipe into their floor drain and seal around its bottom edge: This will raise how high the water has to get before it flows out, keeping water from leaking out at floor level.

Doug Christopherson, Waseca County Commissioner and representative for New Richland and southern Waseca, explained that the county board is responsible for managing all ditch systems in the county, but does not own the ditches in Waseca County. Therefore, improvements to the ditches usually need to be petitioned by the landowner. He explained that the ditch authority can petition a ditch, but it limits the ability to pay for it, as county levy money cannot be used for these purposes.

“There is a high degree of interest from the county to see something done here in town to try to eliminate these [flooding] issues,” Christopherson said. He then listed steps that have been taken in recent years to try and deal with the issue.

In 2016, a water study was applied for to cover the city of  New Richland. However, due to the fact that the grant was geared more towards water storage and protecting water quality through the Clean Water Act, no funds were allotted.

In 2018, an application was again submitted, this time written as a way to study the possibility of slowing water down coming into New Richland through Boot Creek. Grant money was received totaling $57,000, which Waseca County matched at a total of $14,250. A study was done in 2019 by Houston Engineering; results showed eight areas that could potentially hold water. The problem, however, was that the study didn’t hit the targets the county wanted, though it did provide information that hopefully will be useful.

“If we had put everything into place on that study,” Christopherson said, “it would reduce a 100-year flood flow by 24%, which is significant, but, in a 100-year event, we’d probably end up with the same issues we’ve been having.”

The reason for this was explained by Chris Howard, Waseca County Drainage Management  Coordinator. Howard stated that, for example, County Ditch 47 was designed to move 300 cubic feet of water per second. In a 100-year rain event, it is estimated that the area would be getting about 1,700 cubic feet of water per second moving through town, or two semi loads of water per second–almost six times the capacity of the system.

“There is just nothing we have that is engineered to take that kind of water,” Howard said.

Howard was hired in 2022, when the county decided that more resources needed to be put toward county ditch authorities. At this time, the Land and Resource Department Division was created to dedicate more time to the entire ditch system in the county.

In March of this year, Howard, New Richland City Administrator Tony Martens, New Richland Mayor Chad Neitzel, and New Richland city staff met to discuss the Houston study and what was needed to move forward with grants to help fix the flooding issues in town.

“We need a plan,” Christopherson said, noting that any grant request is far more likely to be successful if it includes a plan which states what needs to be done, what it will cost, and how it will mitigate the problem. “We need something that we know will work and mitigate flooding.”

This spring, Houston was asked to give a budget and the scope of a project on a complete hydraulic study through New Richland from Highway 30 from east to west. Details of that budget and project scope were received Friday, May 19, and hadn’t been analyzed completely at the time of the council meeting. A meeting is planned to discuss how to get the study on the ground as soon as possible, however.

“That study, we feel, will give us the detailed numbers and plan, so we can start applying for some money,” Christopherson said.

The idea of upsizing culverts was discussed; officials said this is more easily said than done because issues of land ownership and beneficiaries often create complications. It was noted that most grants are meant to slow water down, not speed it up, which is what upsizing culverts would accomplish.

“I know it’s frustrating,” Christopherson said. “New Richland has a couple different issues. We definitely have water coming through town that we need to control; we have inflow and outflow systems that need to be addressed.” Christopherson estimated a likely price tag for any sufficiently thorough project would begin at about $1 million.

He stressed the importance of studies and having a solid plan, the process for which has been started.

“I don’t want to stand up here and say, ‘Why are we not further along in this process?’” Christopherson said. “I wish we were. When I was elected in 2017, it was a priority of mine to get something done here, and I feel like I failed a little bit. We’re going to work together and work hard to see what we can get done here.”

Howard went on to explain that ditch cleaning and maintenance, which was brought up by multiple local residents during the meeting, has been done. He also stated that, in looking at drainage records when the ditch system was petitioned in the early 1970s, there were complaints in the records and meeting minutes of flooding at the high school and homes of residents at the time.

“This is not a new problem, but it is happening with more frequency and more dire circumstances,” Howard said.

He also explained that if culverts were to be upsized, a process would need to be followed: petition for the work, engineering and studies, and looking at where water passing through town will end up.

“If we fix the problem here and don’t do anything to store or hold any of that water, it makes it that much worse for the next community,” Howard said.

The council then opened the meeting for public comment. Larry Muff discussed options of studies, programs, and state funds that could help with the flooding issues in town. He expressed concerns he had with the initial Houston Engineering study, stating that, when he reached out to discuss said concerns, he never received a response. He also mentioned the possibility of city liability because of larger culverts/bridges upstream causing more pressure downstream, resulting in flooding. No answer was provided regarding that topic.

Randy Dokken, owner of the bowling alley in town, also brought up his concerns and frustrations with flooding issues which have impacted his property since 2010. Dokken stated that, since 2014, flooding issues have cost him about $250,000 of his own money, having been flooded eight times since 2010 with anywhere from one to three feet of water.  Dokken claimed that, taken in combination with losses experienced by other businesses and by many homeowners, these costs emphasize the importance of getting a study done in order to move forward with finally solving this problem.

“I’ve done everything I can do,” Dokken said, noting that he has gone through five insurance companies, is unable to sell the property, and is unable to retire due to the funds he has had to spend repairing damage caused by flooding. He presented the council with three options. “Get some kind of study by this fall, or buy me out, or I’ll have to get a lawyer.”

It was noted that there are a lot of other towns that are dealing with the similar issues; Waldorf, for example, experienced difficulties with the last rainfall despite having new infrastructure in town.

“We’re looking at what can be protected, improved, and what costs too much or is impossible to protect,” Howard said.

“Is there anything we can do as residents and business owners to help?” one local resident asked.

Administrator Martens suggested reaching out to local legislators, and Christopherson stated that, once a plan is in place, it will be presented to state legislators. When asked if the council has ever approached the state legislature on this issue, Martens said that, during his time on the city council and as city administrator, there has been no active participation on the part of the council or city staff in talking to the state legislature about the issue.

“We need to be putting more pressure on those people,” Martens said. “We’ve been very good at communicating together and working through this process. There have been steps [taken], it’s just not as fast as we’d like it to go.”

The next steps will be to have the county and city meet, go over the study done by Houston Engineering, and keep the community updated on progress going forward.

Some residents asked about forming a community action committee to help raise funds and further discuss the issues, and it was stated that the council would be willing to work with such a committee if it were formed.

“It’s hard for people to want to live here if they feel like there’s not going to be change,” one resident said.

“I pledge to you that we’ll get the ball rolling, so we don’t have to have this conversation again for at least a few years,” Martens said. He also noted that a questionnaire is available on the city website and urged any residents affected by the most recent flooding to fill it out in order for the city to push for funding for individuals affected by the flooding.

It was also noted that council member contact information is available on the city website, and residents should not hesitate to reach out to their council members or contact city hall with questions or concerns. Residents are also encouraged to sign up for the city’s text message alert system, for which information can be found on the city website or by calling or visiting city hall.

“Please look at the newsletter on the back of your utility bill,” Martens added, explaining that it contains important information and is a good way to keep the public updated outside of public meetings.

Finally, it was noted that if any residents have private jetting service done at their property to contact the city, so wastewater personnel can visit the property and figure out where the problem is coming from.