Looks like it’s going to happen

Looks like we are poised to set a new record water level for the Minnesota river here in Jordan. It’s currently at 33.8ft (2nd highest of all time) and headed towards 35.2 tomorrow which would surpass the record of 35.07 in 1965.

Also, it looks like we will be well into July before things begin to settle down. The crest should hit the Miss in St Paul on Sat. We will need a long stretch of dry days to recover from all this. My thoughts are with the people and businesses downstream that will be hit hard by this.

Yeah this mess is going nowhere for a long time. A lot of lakes in Southern MN have no inlet or outlet so the flooding there will be devastating.

I wonder how many miles of drain tile have been installed in area fields since 1965.

A crazy stat to consider, just last fall the water level at the same gauge was at 3.75ft, so the river is 31ft higher right now.

3Rivers wrote:

A crazy stat to consider, just last fall the water level at the same gauge was at 3.75ft, so the river is 31ft higher right now.

That is wild.

It is so wild to me, especially that is all off of rain, not spring run off. And for how massive the MN river basin is, and still it’s so high. I drove Flying Cloud Drive Monday and it was incredible. Most river cities on the MN are used to and prepared for some flooding, but nothing like this.

If there is a bright side, the St Croix, while very high, is nowhere near the levels back in ’65. This should take some of the pressure off the areas downstream of Pool 2.

Since 1965 I wonder how much the actual river channel has filled in with sediment making it that much easier to flood. There is a rock bar by my house that used to come out when the gauge hit like 8 feet and it was easy boating to it til about 5 feet or just a bit under. Recently by the time the rocks come out its almost impossible to even get there.

Im surprised they havent been monitoring the Belle Plaine bridge and low spot on hwy 25. Normally they would have been testing the bridge 5 feet of water ago.

Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point. If HWY 25 in Belle Plaine ever had to close, than everybody in that area is screwed. My Mom and Dad are a few miles north of Henderson in the valley, but are up on the hill. They have one road out and Belle Plaine is the only way across the river. The next two closest crossings are Bloomington about 40 miles down river and Mankato about 40 miles up river.

3Rivers, how is your work being impacted? I assume the MN is entirely off limits as all accesses have to be underwater? Is the croix still pretty accessible?

I agree with everyone. Poor farming practices and wind/water erosion of farm ground plus all the tile drainage have changed all of rivers around here. They simply do not hold as much water as they used too. They say live and learn, but there is no fixing this. A lot of the backwaters that I used to fish are absolutely unaccessable anymore. Even the Duck Hunters cannot get in with their mud motors, etc.. Sad. What is also bad is the flooding that we get anymore, the damage it causes, and the clean up afterwards. Costing people, communities, and local, county, state, and the federal government a lot of money. Heck even when the Corp reworks closing, wing, or lateral dams on the Mississippi, that causes further and terrible siltration of the backwaters. I know the backwaters and recreation are not the Corps concern, but it is all ruining a great natural resource. The Upper Mississippi River Refuge is a great example, and most of the backwater was created by the dams and locks on the River.

ThunderLund78 wrote:

3Rivers, how is your work being impacted? I assume the MN is entirely off limits as all accesses have to be underwater? Is the croix still pretty accessible?

Honestly, I’ve canceled all but 2 trips this season (and both of those were pretty tough). There are many factors that go into a guide trip. Accessibility, safety, and success rates are the biggest 3 and when the levels are like this, all 3 are flagged. Needles to say, it’s been a substantial financial hit…

Nothing compared to a house tipping into the river or a basement full of water though.

The Mississippi’s records of 1965 will be topped. It’s not a matter of if, but when. I’ll go as far as to predict it happens within 15 years. So many people think otherwise, but we’ve got infinitely more drain tile and development along the rivers with fewer wetlands than then.

Yes we got a ton of rain, but anything like this in early May/late April on a year with even average snowfall…and these heights will be just a starting point.

USGS shows the record in Jordan at 35.1′ looks like it crested at 35.12′ looks like a tie to me. My dad said he went down by Blakely yesterday and only the top of the high water mark sign was sticking out.

JEREMY wrote:

USGS shows the record in Jordan at 35.1′ looks like it crested at 35.12′ looks like a tie to me. My dad said he went down by Blakely yesterday and only the top of the high water mark sign was sticking out.

And they have the CO RD 6 (Scenic Byway Road) across from Blakely all tore up for construction, it’s going to be a mess when the water recedes. A lot of exposed dirt has likely been washed away.