Friday, June 17, 2011 :: A Railroad-sized Dilemma

Things sure have been buzzing around here! No, not in a wet, squishy kinda way, PTL! In a flurry-of-activity kind of way.

1. A couple of local people (my husband being one of them) asked if I would start some kind of information hub for the area so people could stay informed and know what to do when something warrants action. Of course I had to think about that for all of about 2 seconds. Some of the information I post here will also be posted there, just minus the sassy commentary, but if you'd like to check it out, go to ruloflood.blogspot.com. 

2. The BNSF Railroad, who I mentioned in my last post, has been hard at work on the tracks at the south end of Big Lake still today. When it comes to flooding, BNSF isn't very popular. Here's why... (First, a map for those who are seriously visual learners like me. Click on it for a larger view. Hold Ctrl and click on it to open larger view in a different window or tab.)

The tracks (denoted by red on the map) south of Big Lake run east and west from the river to Fortescue, about a 5.5 mile stretch.  (Well, it runs further than that obviously, but that's the part that is a problem for flooding.) Wanting to make sure trains can get thru (which you can't blame them for), BNSF built these tracks at an elevated level, making them the highest thing in this insanely flat area.

To my knowledge (which admittedly isn't very vast in this department), the main area for drainage thru this built up 5.5 mile bank exists in the area on the map denoted in bright green. Can't find it? Look carefully, it is only about 150 feet wide. Yeah. THAT is the problem. Well, that is part of the problem.

When a levee is breached and water begins to flow inland anywhere north of those tracks, the water flows south and when it hits that bank, water starts to back up like filling up a bathtub, flooding the light blue shaded area and even more to the north. In the past, when the water got deep enough, it would flow over the tracks and on south. So simplistically, the height of the RR tracks determines the maximum depth of the water in the area shaded by blue. It also determines to some extent how far north that blue area will extend (which, by the way, extends much further north than I have shown here.)

People who do not understand this situation will say, "What's the big deal? If the area is already flooded, what does it matter if the water is simply deeper?" Well, what if 5 years ago you built a house and elevated it to a level safe from flooding based on past flood levels? That "safe level" is now drastically different because of the elevated railway, but you can't exactly go back and change the elevation of your home. The railroad stated in the newspaper it is raising the tracks by as much as 20 inches this week. They also raised the tracks just last year when flooding was imminent, although I don't know how much.

Also, many farmers who live or work in the area have built dikes or taken other protective measures to ensure their homes and critical assets like grain bins full of grain are safe from flood waters. When the RR comes thru and raises the tracks nearly 2 feet in a week, those protective measures will simply not be enough. And there likely will not be enough time to increase them, not to mention the question of how much more is safe now? Or next week? Or next year if the RR continues to do this? This very scenario is why last year Dustin helped a farmer take sandbags down the top of a levee with a 4-wheeler, loaded them on boats, "sailed" them across flood waters, and unloaded them on top of a dike surrounded by water to protect a neighbor's entire grain elevator filled with grain. The neighbor thought he was safe when the flooding began, but water got much deeper than anticipated, much deeper than ever before, because of the newly elevated rails.

Add to all of this, it is debated whether or not the RR needs to have permits issued by the county and the Village of Big Lake in order to do the work...before they do the work....in hand and on site while they do the work. The clerk of Big Lake and the county commissioner personally told me they do not have such permits. So, the area sentiment is that, while the rest of us have to play by the rules, apparently the RR does not.

Now, I'm not saying I blame the RR for trying to protect their line. I'm just saying, that's the problem it creates, and why people get real grouchy when they start to see things like this (below) every time they leave their driveways.

(Above) This is just PART of the work being done. Numerous rock trucks, excavator-type machines, bulldozers, etc.
(Below) This shows the fortification of the tracks, and the fact that even the rock piled to help protect them has increased in height.

(Below) The crossing has been raised, and from this photo you can begin to see how much.

I hope to have more news on this front when I (or if I ever) see my husband again--he has been in meetings with the Railroad all day. Hopefully they didn't throw him in the river...or the other way around.

Oh, and back on that map--the yellow star? That's our house.