Arcadia flood risk management project study progresses

Photo By George Stringham | Project manager Nan Bischoff and lead Planner Katie Opsahl review features of the Arcadia flood risk management study.  

ARCADIA, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

03.19.2020

Story by George Stringham 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Corps of Engineers released a draft flood risk management study plan and held a public meeting for the city of Arcadia,
Wisconsin, earlier this winter, bringing the aforementioned city one step closer to better protection for the community, which is bordered by three water bodies.

Arcadia is vulnerable to flooding from the Trempealeau River and two small tributaries, Turton Creek and Myers Valley Creek. The small, relatively steep watersheds of Turton Creek and Myers Valley Creek are flashy and highly responsive to intense precipitation events. Significant
flood events in the basin occurred as recently as 2010 and 2017.

The draft plan for the proposed Continuing Authorities Program project is estimated at approximately $37 million and calls for combination of levees, floodwalls, railroad closures and other elements commonly associated with a flood risk management project like this one. The draft plan also proposes commercial and residential buyouts in order to achieve flood risk reduction for the community.

This most recent study came on the heels of the 2010 flood, after which city officials approached the Corps in 2013 about finding a way to reduce flood risk to their community. Similar studies had been conducted in the 1950s and again in the 1980s, without progressing beyond the study phase.

The primary goal of a flood risk management project is to reduce the risk of flood damage, injury and death from flooding for a period of at least 50 years from the date of project implementation.

The objectives for this study were to reduce the risk to property and critical infrastructure due to flooding, increase community resilience and ability to fight and recover from flood events and reduce public expenditures related to flood damage reduction measures, action plans and post disaster assistance.

With the public and agency reviews of the draft report complete, the next challenge for the study team will be completing remaining surveys, finalizing the report and submitting the report to Mississippi Valley Division for approval.

The city of Arcadia also has to endorse the tentatively-selected plan. The report could be submitted to division as early as July with approval occurring October 2020.

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• Date Taken: 03.19.2020
• Date Posted: 03.20.2020 14:12
• Story ID: 365599
• Location: ARCADIA, WISCONSIN, US