Days After Rain, Central Kansas Rivers Still Rise

By Amanda O’Toole and Barbara J. Isenberg, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

May 26–It’s been days since more than 8 inches of rain pounded parts of Reno County and other areas in central Kansas, but its effects are just starting to appear downstream.

At least 14 locations along Kansas rivers and streams have risen above their banks, and water in dozens of other places is getting higher.

That’s because water that filled other tributaries and streams are emptying into larger rivers such as the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers.

“We haven’t seen conditions like this for six to seven years,” said Jim Putnam, a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey office in Kansas. The department monitors drought and flooding.

Several bodies of water are recording record highs, such as Mulberry Creek near Salina and the Little Arkansas River in Halstead.

Halstead officials expected to close the town’s three floodgates by nightfall Friday.

No one in town was being evacuated and city clerk Dianne Mueller was hopeful the levees would hold.

“All the water is coming in from the north,” Mueller said. “McPherson got lots and lots of rain, and now it’s all coming down through Halstead.”

The town has three floodgates: on County Road 801, near the railroad tracks and on Main Street.

“This will be our first experience closing the gate on Main Street,” Mueller said.

Jerry Schmidt and others who oversee 11 miles of levee in Reno County’s Drainage District No. 3 spent two hours plugging a 30-foot hole Thursday.

They used sandbags, hay bales and a large tarp-like piece of plastic to keep the water from spilling onto properties, and in the meantime blew through maybe half of their $9,000 annual budget to make repairs.

Earlier May storms had washed out parts of the dirt levee and weakened it. Schmidt estimates it will cost at least $500,000 to fix everything.

“The levees are worth nothing with big holes in them,” he said. “But the problem is getting the money… We don’t know where we’re at on who is going to fund us.”

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran is working with government officials across the state to help solve that problem, he said.

About 40 different animals including raccoons, birds and owls were moved Friday from the Hutchinson Zoo’s rehabilitation facility because of flooding.

Charlotte Poepperling, the zoo director, said standing pools had flooded many of the exhibits, leaving deer and bison to find dry ground. Many of the animals didn’t seem to mind.

“The deer are having fun splashing around in the puddles and of course the river otters and beavers are enjoying the extra water,” Poepperling said.

The zoo is closed temporarily until it can clean up the water and take care of the animals.

“We’ve got it closed to deal with the animal issues so we don’t have to worry about the public,” she said.

Putnam, the hydrologist, said water in the flooded areas will recede over the next two to three days, as long as there’s no more significant rainfall.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson said officials would watch creek and river levels and asked that residents living in flood-prone areas be ready to evacuate.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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