Maybe the recent area flooding wasn’t as bad as Halloween 1998, but it was bad — as anyone involved in the evacuations, rescues, sandbagging and mopping up can attest. Now it’s up to neighbors and agencies to pitch in and help those suffering through the wet, smelly, miserable task of cleaning up after a flood. Others are dealing with another kind of heartbreak in the wake of rains that measured 10.86 inches in Sedgwick County and closed the Kansas Turnpike in Sumner County: the loss of loved ones. Dennis Rhodes died after heroically working to rescue eight others on the Chikaskia River in Sumner County, and Robert N. Bennett of Sedgwick died after driving into deep water in northern Sedgwick County. Next come the questions about whether leaders could or should have done more since 1998 to prevent such flooding.
15 Comments
And what exactly do you think should have been done, Rhonda? If there is 10 inches of rain in a short period, it’s going to flood somewhere, no matter what we do.
God bless Dennis and his family. Prayers for them in this time of grieving and personal loss.
Obviously.
the thing that sticks with me is the number of idiots who drove around barricades just to wind up stalling their cars. They can see other cars stuck..and yet they do it anyway. It cost one man his life….
Next come the questions about whether leaders could or should have done more since 1998 to prevent such flooding.
————-
I’m thinking giant retractable roof draining into the aquifer.
There are hundreds of things that could have been done to mitigate the damage… Wichita choose not to do anything about it. Oh and when the federal government tried to do something about it (redrawing the flood boundaries), what happened? The city and citizens went to court to stop them…
I have been following the flooding problem in west Wichita for about 2000 years (based on flood frequency/occurrance). I am struck by how much the City (and County) has actually made things WORSE. The practice of channelizing (’drainage improvements’) simply transfer the problem downstream. Two old neighborhoods – the Dell and Hidden Lakes – did not flood in the past in the way they do today. This is a direct consequence of all those ‘improvements’ upstream – both in the calfskin and now the Dry creek basins.
The speed with which the water both rose and fell in the Calfskin is indicative of a paved channel rather than a natural stream. In a stream with natural buffers water is stored (’detained’) in the basin and drains more slowly. This results in a lower peak flow and less flooding. However, with all the pavement and channelizing the water is ’shot downstream’ causing the kins of flooding we see today.
KDOT has a proposal for Kellogg in Goddard which will make the Dry Creek situation even worse with increased runoff. Residents downstream should be examining their proposal carefully.
There are ways to alleviate this flooding. The geomorphological approach is to mimic nature – establish detention/retention basins all along the drainages. These can be used as parks etc but can then be inundated when it rains with minimal disruption or damage. Then the water can either drain out at a manageable rate if percolate into the aquifer (”I’m thinking giant retractable roof draining into the aquifer.”)
However, as long as we follow the Corps of Engineers type philosophy of believing we can control nature this will not be done.
bth
Posted September 16, 2008 at 9:42 am | Permalink
I have been following the flooding problem in west Wichita for about 2000 years (based on flood frequency/occurrance).
———————————–
Damn!
You’re a lot older than I thought!
YEP! My how time flies when you’re having fun!
bth = older than dirt…
bth was here when the ark river carved out the valley and saw the flooding here 10,000 years ago…
outlander
Posted September 16, 2008 at 7:45 am | Permalink
Next come the questions about whether leaders could or should have done more since 1998 to prevent such flooding.
_________________________________________________
Nah, let’s get past that boring stuff and get right to blaming the victim.
wasnt flooding a big topic of the last city election? Since the election has their been one resolution passed to do anything?
Yes
No
Ben: I notice that the Calfskin flows through such a large park off of 119th. That park was completely filled in the last rain. I don’t know if that one is part of a system like you have in mind.
outlander – yes, that is part of the idea. But a whole lot more are needed.
The problem with the calfskin is two-fold. There has been a lot of development along the North Fork without sufficient storage and also Dry Creek can breach its basin into the North Fork. Many of the “retention ponds” in the developments are kept full. That makes them useless for flood control. They know that. Chris Carrier knows that. But, as noted, nothing gets done.
Until, of course, the residents sue.