Cleanup from recent flooding continues

by Beth Kraft

The unforgiving punch that fast-moving floodwaters can pack is evident from Mondovi all the way to Osseo as members of area communities continued to survey the damage and began the recovery process throughout the past week following flash flooding that struck on Sunday night, Sept. 6.

Between six and eight inches of rain inundated the area late that evening, causing a variety of issues all along the U.S. Highway 10 corridor. Buffalo and Trempealeau counties as well as the Village of Eleva declared a state of emergency.

Floodwaters pushed dams in both Strum and Eleva to their limits. Rising water levels on the Buffalo River downstream in Mondovi closed several area roads and sparked an effort to lay hundreds of sandbags at homes along Riverside Avenue to hold back the floodwaters as the river level fluctuated on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 7 and 8.

“We had a lot of rain in a little amount of time,” commented Mondovi Mayor Treig Pronschinske. “When a storm happens overnight like that, it’s difficult to gather what happened until the next morning.”

The damage received by an Eleva business and residence located just south of the dam on the Eleva Pond look to be the most significant.

As floodwaters from two creeks cascaded into the pond during the downpour, the rising waters hit a bottleneck at the dam and overflowed the pond’s southern bank.

Chuck Harper, owner of Family Farms, Inc., said the “torrent” of escaping water washed out his service road, sending semis floating and pushing about 12 inches of water into the building.

“Nobody ever thought this would happen, but it did,” said Harper of the extent of the flooding.

He estimates the eight trucks he lost to flood damage will cost about $900,000 to replace in addition to the loss of about $300,000 - $400,000 in meat products that were soaked when water entered the building’s cooler.

Insurance coverage on the vehicles should take care of about $500,000 - $600,000 of the cost to replace the trucks, said Harper, but the compromised meat products will be a total loss.

Harper doesn’t have flood insurance, as his wholesale food distribution business isn’t considered to be on the flood plain. Neither is Lanny and Jamie Ludwigson’s home just south of Family Farms and the dam.

As flood waters topped the pond’s bank, the normally-calm creek that flows around the Ludwigsons’ property turned into a powerful wall of water that relocated their neighbor’s storage shed, pushed about three feet of water through their garage and knocked their home of nine years off its foundation.

Jamie Ludwigson says the basement was filled to the top with water and there were several inches of mud and water on the home’s main floor.

The family was out of town camping when the flash flood occurred. Ludwigson says it was probably for the best.

“I think it would have been worse watching it happen,” she said.

Emotions ran high as the family returned home the next day to assess the damage.

“It was just shock, really,” said Ludwigson of seeing her home for the first time. “Everything was covered in mud.”

Work to pump the water out of the basement and remove soaked possessions began immediately. Flooring on the ground level and water-logged sheetrock was also torn out.

Once they opened up the floor, Ludwigson says they realized the sandstone foundation of the century-old home was crumbling from exposure to the floodwaters.

“We’re going to have to have our house jacked up and a new foundation poured,” she said.

That project is estimated to cost $40,000 - $50,000 out-of-pocket, due to not having flood insurance coverage. That loss doesn’t account for all the furniture and other possessions that were ruined by water damage.

Ludwigson said the family hasn’t yet had a chance to go through all of their things to see what is salvageable. Appliances on the main floor will need to be checked out, and the home will need a new furnace and water heater as well. 

Local businesses, family members and friends have stepped up to help the Ludwigsons out.

Durand Sanitation provided the family with a large dumpster, Fedie Well Drilling and Bauer Plumbing provided enclosed trailers for storage, and Oium Blacktop repaired their gravel driveway. Meals have been offered up by Pammy K’s.

A donation drive was also established at M.H. Smith Insurance in Mondovi by Tessa Harmon to collect items the family needs.

Storage totes, sheets and blankets are a few items on the family’s needs list.

Their shoes were also ruined by muddy floodwaters, Ludwigson shared, as they were on the first floor.

“I was just trying to find another way to help them because I felt so bad,” Harmon said.

Homeowners insurance policies generally don’t contain flood coverage, Harmon explained. Those living in special hazard zones can purchase flood insurance coverage, but many don’t unless their bank requires them to.

A donation fund has also been set up at all United Bank locations to help the family cover repair costs. A benefit event is also in the works, Harmon said.

Mondovi homeowners watched Buffalo River rise

Mondovi received about six inches of rain during the Labor Day weekend downpour, causing minor flooding and washouts in some areas in and around the city, but the primary focus was on events unfolding upstream on the Buffalo River.

Water at the Strum dam was rising fast that Monday due to water flowing downstream from Osseo.

Strum dam operator Gary Barone says the water rose two feet above the dam’s flashboards, which are supported by pipes that slowly bend down from the force of the floodwaters to relieve some of the water pressure, protecting the dam as a whole.

“They call it a breach,” said Barone. “It did exactly what it’s supposed to do.

“We knew it was going to happen; we watched it happen,” he continued.

Once the flashboards breached shortly before noon on Labor Day, Barone informed the DNR, area sheriff’s departments and first responders of the event.

However, Barone’s message may have been misconstrued by some to mean that the Strum dam had failed completely and a tidal wave of water was headed downstream.

Residents on Riverside Ave. were ordered to prepare for a possible evacuation and sand bags were brought in from the county shop in Fountain City.

Mondovi Fire Department Chief Steve Anderson’s property became command central as city workers, members of the Mondovi fire and police departments, EMTs, and residents pitched in to help fill and place about 600 sandbags.

Some degree of flooding from the Buffalo River is a relatively common occurrence for Riverside Ave. residents like Anderson and Jeannie McClellan, who have lived in their home for over 30 years. They installed a berm in the home’s backyard to hold the water back after their basement flooded twice in the mid-90s.

“I would say this is close to the highest,” Anderson mused, glancing out at the floodwaters that had turned most of his backyard into a lake that Tuesday afternoon.

Kelly Dickinson, who lives next-door to Anderson and McClellan, says he and his wife, Deb, woke up Tuesday morning to another downpour.

“It went down and all of a sudden it just came right back up,” said Deb of the water behind their house.

The couple have lived in the home since 2006, but “we never had to do anything like this before,” Deb Dickinson said, glancing at the wall of sandbags along her driveway.

Pronschinske said he felt the city’s response to the flooding “went well, considering it was a holiday weekend.”

Anderson acknowledged there may have been a miscommunication as to the seriousness of the situation at the Strum dam, but noted it was better to be cautious given the unpredictability of floodwaters.

“You never really know the extent, especially when it comes to water,” Barone agreed. “It’s always a learning process whenever something like this occurs.”

Anderson estimated the Buffalo River crested in Mondovi at about noon that Tuesday following additional rain that morning. Floodwaters receded substantially in the days that followed.

At the Eleva and Strum dams, the water level was intentionally lowered in the days following the flash flood in order to allow DNR officials to inspect both structures.

Erosion that took out part of the bank between the Eleva Pond and Family Farms will be repaired prior to restoring the water to the normal level.

“It’s been checked out and it’s fine,” said Eleva Village Board President Brad Mai of the dam.

Mai noted the structure held despite the stress of the floodwaters; some erosion of the earthen bank is to be expected given the circumstances, he said.

Harper said he and village officials will collaborate on how best to repair the gaping hole.

“We’ve always worked together,” Harper said.

Getting back to normal

With cleanup efforts well on their way at Family Farms on Thursday, Sept. 10, Harper reflected back on the events of the previous few days.

“We have made unbelievable progress,” he said. “Sunday night seems like a month ago.”

After facing unthinkable flooding to begin the week, Family Farms resumed its delivery schedule Wednesday and its processing facility began turning out stuffed chicken breasts Thursday morning after getting the all-clear from the USDA.

“It was overwhelming all the way along, but people kept making great decisions,” Harper said of the hours immediately following the flash flood.

“The amount of community volunteers that came in on Monday was incredible,” he added.

Mai, too, extended his appreciation to everyone who pitched in to help with the recovery effort.

“I just thought it was pretty impressive that everyone came together in a time of need like that,” he shared.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Mai said of the flooding.

Trempealeau County has estimated flood losses in Eleva, Strum and Osseo at about $2 million altogether, although the Village of Strum had no flood damage according to Barone. Damage had been estimated at about $1.1 million in the days immediately following the disaster, but the number rose substantially throughout last week.

Water has receded from area roads that cross the Buffalo River, but the Buffalo River ATV trail that runs from Mondovi east through Eleva, Strum, and Osseo and on to Augusta is closed until further notice.

The DNR must inspect all bridges on the trail before it can reopen, said Dave Green of the Mondovi-Gilmanton Sno-Blazers. The club maintains the trail between Mondovi and Eleva.

Additionally, residents are advised to stay out of any remaining floodwaters along the Buffalo River as the water may be contaminated. The City of Osseo alerted the public last week that a mixture of wastewater and floodwater was pumped out of the Osseo sanitary system and into the Buffalo River to prevent it from backing up into homes in the city.

Despite the scope of the damage Family Farms endured and the work that still remains before Harper returns to business as usual, there is an upside.

If people didn’t know about Family Farms before the flash flood coverage hit the news, they do now, he said. 

The company has been expanding of late and currently employs about 40 people. Family Farms’ meat products are also slated to appear in Supervalu stores, based in the Minneapolis area.

“That’s a big deal for us,” Harper said of Family Farms’ growth.

“With most tragedies I guess there’s some kind of silver lining,” he added.