Polk County Emergency Manager Jody Beauchane says he believes there is a good chance for overland flooding as the temperatures rise in Polk County. “Right now we have about 3 inches of water content in our snowpack,” said Beauchane. “When our fields thaw the water will head to the drainage systems. Our ditches right now are packed with snow and ice so for the first few days they will be useless. As the water enters the ditch the snow and ice will raise and moving forward will slam the culverts shut.”
Because of that, the county is expecting some roads to get covered with water. “We’d like to remind people not to drive through water that’s overtopping roads,” said Beauchane. “You don’t know what’s underneath the water, the road could be completely gone and you drive right into it. Keep kids from playing on the snow in or near ditches. There could be water moving under the snow without anyone knowing about it and if they go down it could be hard to find them as some of our ditches are six to twelve feet deep.”
As in the past, the highest likelihood for overland flooding is on the western end of the county. “If you drew a line from the City of Beltrami to Tabor and then west that is where a lot of our overland flooding always occurs,” said Beauchane. “The grade is really slight out there, it’s a .03, that’s two and a half feet per mile so everything is going to move really slow. That’s where most of our public roads, wash ways, township roads will lose some gravel. Hopefully, none of this happens but that’s what we’re preparing for.”
Beauchane also said it’s good to check that your equipment is working properly ahead of the thaw. “We’d like to remind the public if you’ve had issues in the past make sure you’re checking your equipment – generators, sump pumps – make sure everything is working correctly,” said Beauchane. “Also again don’t drive through water or around our barricades on public roads.”
