WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-SE Minnesota Prepares for Spring Flooding

SE Minnesota Prepares for Spring Flooding

The town of Houston, Minnesota was fortunate that it avoided major damage from last year's flooding, but the flood served as a wake up call to the community.  "This past year was a real eye-opening experience for us that we didn't have any good user-friendly plans. So, currently we're working on that document," Says Houston Mayor Connie Edwards about the town's new disaster plan.
    
Houston town officials are working on a disaster plan that not only covers flooding, but also tornados, hazardous waste, and other disasters that could affect the area.  "People think right now flood is in the foremost of everybody's minds, but we have to remember that there's many other disasters that could affect us as well," Edwards added.
    
Officials from Hokah say that a new disaster plan is in the works, but will have to wait until clean-up is complete from last year's floods.  "We gotta get that done [the clean-up], but now as we start to clean-up we're also looking at ways to alleviate or eliminate the potential of having this happen again, and it's an on-going process," says Hokah Mayor Jerry Martell.

One of the biggest concerns in Hokah is the possibility of Thompson Creek flooding, the same area that flooded last summer.  "We need to clean this [debris] out and make sure we've got a good flow and it doesn't back up and cause problems again," Martell added.
    
Houston isn't as worried about the Root River flooding as it is about flooding within the city.  "Last year, that was our biggest challenge with the 2007 floods was internal flooding, and with all the snow we've got right now and that starts to melt, there's not a lot of places for it to go," says Mayor Edwards.

To alleviate their internal flooding, the Town of Houston is working with a corps of engineers to dredge their pooling areas to help drain the water that gathers inside the town.  Officials from Houston hope to have their disaster plan complete and ready to present to the city council in April.