Subj : Eagle Cam To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Fri Jun 28 2019 08:38:00 Hi Nancy! BM>>> BTW, there was a breech in the floodwall at Burlington, IA, late BM>>> yesterday afternoon, flooding into their downtown. I've been bad and BM>>> not seen the news/looked online to see the extent of their damage. BM>>> Problem was the sand has soaked in water since April, so over two BM>>> months, and none of the temporary flood walls in the region have gone BM>>> through that length of use. NB>>> And there just comes a time that it can't hold any more.... BM>> Unfortunately right. I could make guesses about why the failure; BM>> quite sure there are a few teams of people with all sort of degrees BM>> and experience looking into it. NB>> And hopefully they will come up with solutions and better flood NB>> defenses... :) BM> Hopefully. NB> And hopefully there are solutions to be found... :) Getting to the solution is the interesting part. One of the primary issues is a permanent flood wall would block the view of the River at the parks, etc. Elevating the land would be an option - until they see how expensive that and collateral would be! I'm thinking the temporary floodwalls with permanant posts and insert the panels would be one of the better options. BM> One side effect from the flooding will be the removal of BM> decorative planters which are in the median. I'm not sure what they BM> were initially installed to do -- they look OK, but not great. Not to BM> keep on-coming headlights out of the eyes. Anyway, with the flooding BM> they found it bit more challenging to install the HESCO barriers BM> because the barriers were in the way. Haven't heard if the planters BM> will be moved elsewhere or what will become of them. NB> They were a nice idea on paper, maybe they needed more attention NB> than they were able to be given... They were probably just NB> someone's idea of beautification... :) Maybe they'll be moved NB> somewhere more practical... I think it was part of a beautification project - and probably looked nice on paper/screen but in real life looked so-so. Maybe end up inside a section of permanent floodwall!! BM>> exercises as I have no idea of location, contents, etc., etc. NB>> Probably lots of people will be engaged in re-thinking things due NB>> to this years record flooding events.... :) BM> Like those planters! Yes, I'm thinking there might be a lot of BM> changes. LIS in a little while back, the railroad(s) elevated their BM> tracks and Davenport has to work around that to allow cars over the BM> tracks. Generally just can't pile a dumptruck full of dirt on either BM> side, grade, pave and call it good: have to consider longer trucks BM> which would 'bridge' and have wheels in the shallow and the trailer BM> body resting on the tracks. NB> Yup, lots of issues to consider.... Did half-find out some more information, though doesn't make sense. There are laws which allow the railroads to elevate the tracks to allow the trains to continue to operate during flooding. Apparently when the flooding is done they have thirty days to bring the tracks back down to the original grade. So that would sound like it's just a temporary problem. The article continued on about the railroad and City of Davenport negotiating re: various railroad crossings in the downtown area to essential close them -- whatever proposed would have also blocked pedestrian crossing, not just vehicular. I'll admit at this point I was too confused. BM> The discussion on various options for a permanent floodwall has come BM> up again -- the big item causing a 'no' is the view along the River. I BM> don't know the geography well enough but perhaps a combination of BM> sections of permanent walls with sections of the temporary walls BM> (permanent posts, insert panels between when necessary) along with the BM> HESCO barriers at cross street intersections would work. NB> Sounds plausible.... I'll agree that it's a shame to lose the NB> view of the River... but one does need to control things somewhat NB> when the River is endangering.... Pretty much right. The section I'm more familiar with is from Bettendorf to the eastern boarder of downtown Davenport. Decades ago, maybe part of the WPA, the road was moved in from the River, and so elevated. The stone wall barrier which appears to be built to keep drivers from going off the road is really part of the flood wall. Between the road and the River are railroad tracks, a levee to protect the tracks from lower-level flooding, and a public area with a walking and bicycle trail, a few picnic areas, some shade-tree fishign areas, etc. Downtown and the downriver side is where all the flood issues are. BM>> ... What is a pet peeve? Do you have one? What do they eat? NB>> Probably they eat contentment... leaving one discontented with NB>> the situation.... ;) BM> Need to find one to eat discontent. NB> Ah, but peeves are peevish.... ;) So if peeves are picky does that mean they're related to porcupines? ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... Elbow macaroni. Why not wrist, hip or knee macaroni? --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .