What would 12" of rain do to you?

[Redneck in training]

2 yrs ago it rained 10" in 2 hours here ....yep flooded the house. If the city pumps had worked though I mighta been ok. They had --I think it was -- 9 out of 12 pumps fail. The city certainly heard about it from home owners. They took steps to fix everything ....but the horse was already out of the barn. Now I'm trying to get moved from 20 feet ASL to 1000' ASL and hopefully that will solve my flood problem. House site is on the high point of the property and I'll be building with a crawl space so FFL will be about 4' AGL as well.

ASL=Above Sea Level
AGL=Above Groun Level
FFL=First Floor Level

I think that what they are.

 

[JB4310]

What would 12" of rain do around here?

12" rain would wreak havoc.
First of all being a waterproofing contractor it would make my phone ring off the hook for 2 weeks in a row. Anytime we get 2-3" rains I get work even from people who have been sitting on the fence about there problem, it's the 1 straw that breaks the camels back theory.

Around hear I'd guess the most rain we ever had in 24 hrs was maybe 6-7 inches, I can't remember it that bad but am guessing we've had that much. we have flooding problems at around 4-5 inches, the sanitary sewer system is 100 plus years old and has to much storm water influence on it, when the sewer system starts backing up it causes basement flooding.

We are having our slowest spring in 25 years, due in part to the economy but more due to the lack of rain we had this year.

JB.

 

[tallyho8]

Now I'm trying to get moved from 20 feet ASL to 1000' ASL and hopefully that will solve my flood problem.

Just remember, it isn't how far Above Sea Level that you are that matters. It is how far Above the Surrounding Properties that counts.

Although no homes in New Orleans that were 10' above sea level flooded during Katrina, we are now witnessing the flood potential in Fargo which is 900' Above Sea Level.

 

[jinjimbob]

12" wouldn't do much for us, maybe 2 or 3 times that would.

People live in the wrong places, on flood planes, besides nice pretty rivers, and then expect everyone to come and help them. For example, the government should relocate everyone who lives below sea level, does not make sense.

Wetlands are there for a reason, they stop flooding, they stop tornadoes come in land, but people complain about control when they aren't allowed to concrete them over.

 

[tallyho8]

People live in the wrong places, on flood planes, besides nice pretty rivers, and then expect everyone to come and help them. For example, the government should relocate everyone who lives below sea level, does not make sense.

You mean you want them to relocate the people who live in Death Valley?

And there are many more places above sea level in America that flood than there are places below sea level. Check out the 14 places that flooded this year that are all above sea level. Does Fargo ring a bell?

 

[jinman]

And there are many more places above sea level in America that flood than there are places below sea level. Check out the 14 places that flooded this year that are all above sea level. Does Fargo ring a bell?

If Fargo had a levee system like the ones around New Orleans (and Westwego), I'm sure the Red River would have done far less damage. However, the flood crest of 43' is just amazing. See illustration of NO levees and floodwalls below.

 

[tallyho8]

If Fargo had a levee system like the ones around New Orleans (and Westwego), I'm sure the Red River would have done far less damage.

Yes, the levee system in southeast Louisiana is a necessary evil that has both allowed development and contributed to the sinking and someday final destruction of the area.

Although this area was originally built on natural levees of the Mississippi River that were 10 to 20 feet above sea level and fairly immune to flooding, levees, drainage canals and development in the 31 states and 2 provinces that drain into the Mississippi, have, by lowering their flood risk, increased the amount of water to flow down the river through southeast Louisiana and thereby increased the chance of flooding here.

Every time that you sandbag a river in North Dakota to keep it from flooding that area, it sends more water down the river to flood areas that used to be immune to floods.

Before the levee system, southeast Louisiana was a growing delta plain with the occasional overflow of the Mississippi depositing nourishing sentiment that continually kept building the area higher and higher above sea level and delivering nourishment to the land making it fertile for crops.

Now that development far north of here has channeled much more water down to our area, causing the building of higher levees here, the building up of the river basin has ended and the land is sinking so fast that many homes originally built in New Orleans above sea level are now many feet below sea level. Land subsidence has caused the gulf to creep 50 miles closer to New Orleans than it was before levees. The United States has already lost over 2000 square miles of land to subsidence, most of it in southeast Louisiana, since the levee system has been built.

Since many local, state and federal projects in 31 states have increased the flood potential in southeast Louisiana, the feds have stepped in to try to rectify the situation they have caused and are formulating massive, expensive flood control projects in this area. But, Mother Nature will eventually prevail.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

about 3 1/2 years back we had 14" in 6 hours.
basement stayed dry, but the gravel road was dug down to the limestone shelf (about 18" of gravel base gone) and the 9 X 16 foot concrete culvert/bridge North of the property was dug out and undercut. The small, shallow stream it crosses was running about 1/4 mile wide for several hours.
A friend about 5 miles from me had artesian springs coming up in her driveway and crawlspace - and she's about 5' - 7' above the high water mark near her.

 

[jinman]

Every time that you sandbag a river in North Dakota to keep it from flooding that area, it sends more water down the river to flood areas that used to be immune to floods.

Okay, you go tell the people in Fargo to quit sandbagging and saving their homes so New Orleans can be saved. Myself, I want to be far away from you when you do and out of the line of fire.

 

[tallyho8]

Okay, you go tell the people in Fargo to quit sandbagging and saving their homes so New Orleans can be saved. Myself, I want to be far away from you when you do and out of the line of fire.

I believe that everyone should do their best to protect their properties, but I used that scenario to show cause and effect.

It shows that if levees are built in one area where it has no negative effects on them, that it usually creates a negative effect on another area downriver.

When levees are built up north to divert water that was natural overflow, downriver, then even higher levees have to be built downriver. And levees in southeast Louisiana have disastrous effects as it causes major land subsidence there.

I admire the work ethic of the people of Fargo as they pitch in to fill sandbags to protect their community, instead of just sitting on the porch complaining about the conditions as I have seen done in other places. (Don't ask where )