Return to Archived Stories

Each spring when there is a rapid snow melt, the flooding in the southeast part of Morningside Addition is the worst in town, Pete Carlson, city engineer, told the city council on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The water eventually seeps into the sandy soil.

The city approached the North Fork Crow River Watershed District about the possibility of working together earlier this year. The two entities ordered a feasibility report, which Carlson presented to the council last week.

Most of the surface water drains from a 169-acre area in Paynesville Township.

Carlson said the city had three options: do nothing, develop a storm sewer system, which would pipe the water to the North Fork Crow River, or construct detention ponds. For the city to run storm water pipes throughout the 169-acre area in the township to the river would be very expensive, said Carlson. He recommended detention ponds.

A 100-year storm that produced six inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period would need a 700 by 340-foot pond to handle the runoff, according to Carlson. The city would probably never need a pond that big.

A 10-year storm that produces four inches of rain could be handled by two smaller ponds. Carlson recommended the smaller ponds as they would fit into future development plans better. He proposed a 1.5-acre pond north of County Road 34 and a 2.75-acre pond south of the Catholic church cemetery.

The ponds would detain runoff water before it reached the residential area and help eliminate flooding problems. The ponds wouldn't have any outlets. The water would infiltrate through the sandy soil into the ground.

The estimated cost of this project is $227,155.

The council gave verbal approval of the project and directed Carlson and Ron Mergen, public works director, to present the plans to the Paynesville Township Board and the watershed district in an attempt to seek financial help with the project.