Subj : Re: Miss.RvrDamBreach-Davenpt To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Sat May 02 2020 19:25:40 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 24-Apr-2020 12:30 <=- BM>> As I said some time last week the Mississippi River was two feet over BM>> flood stage; they are putting up some of the temporary barriers, so BM>> must be stored locally and I'd assume more on order. The barriers are BM>> a big plastic box filled with sand via bulldozer and the like. Also BM>> assume the barriers are a one-time use as removing the sand would BM>> damage. Presume the sand is filtered and reused. NB>> I suppose no way of knowing when the ones now being placed arrived.... NB>> I wonder if they'd be stored, sand and all, though, and the sand would NB>> just dry out to be ready for the next flood... or maybe there's a way NB>> to remove the sand without damaging the boxes.... BM> I'm thinking not, though also don't recall hearing one way or another. Probably most people don't pay any attention to details like that, unless they are actually involved in the doing of it, so not so likely any announcements about that sort of thing... Just curious sorts like us tend to wonder about it... ;) BM> Looking on the company's website BM> https://www.hesco.com/products/flood-barriers/ and so far nothing BM> about reusing the HESCO barriers, but hover the mouse over the picture BM> of the Jackbox and pops up "lightweight, recyclable and highly flexible BM> flood barrier". From that picture it sort of reminds me of a row of BM> the paper lawnbags except is plastic, so a lot smaller than the HESCO BM> barriers. BM> Ah! Just learned something: the product is actually called "Floodline" BM> but I've never heard it called that. ..They even go back and forth: BM> FLOODLINE is ideal for emergency flood response, offering BM> significant advantages over traditional sandbags, in terms of cost, BM> time and labor requirement for installation. BM> A wall using HESCO earth-filled barrier can be filled by two people BM> and a standard front-end loader in just 20 minutes. The equivalent BM> sized wall of 1,500 sandbags can take 10 people up to 7 hours to fill BM> and build. BM> (FWIW the size is 48" H, 36" W, 15" D.) Ah! There are two styles: one BM> is 'Recoverable'.... Go to details and need to put in contact BM> information so will end the search there. Looks like the company name is HESCO, and the various products have different names but usually end up being refered to by the company name instead of the product name... Jackbox sounds like the size that an individual might be using to protect his yard and house from a flooding stream, rather than what a community would put up along the raging river to protect a wider area.... ;) BM>> Rock Island (IL) (across the River) is a little more elevated above BM>> the River and so a lot less area to protect. They have some some BM>> floodgates which are raised during flooding. Other towns (seems mostly BM>> downriver from here) have levees for protection. NB>> Each locality develops their own ways of dealing with the inevitable NB>> flooding... ;) BM> Right. Here in Bettendorf we essentially do nothing. We're barely BM> five miles from Downtown Davenport. Slight bit of elevation and the BM> only area that gets wet is an area about the size of a house lot called BM> Martha's Point (no, no idea who Martha is). They do put up a short BM> flood wall, so without apparently more flooding would occur. That bit of elevation does indeed make a major difference... :) BM>> Plus for the past week or so the parks are closed. Iowa is one of the BM>> few states without the stay-in-home order; seems like we went from the BM>> opposite direction and closed everything down so no place to go so may BM>> as well stay home! NB>> As far as I know our parks weren't ever closed.... but not many are NB>> going there... everything else was closed down except for essential NB>> business, though, so still not really any place to go, so the stay NB>> home order is almost superfluous... BM> Uh-huh! No where to go! Heard on the news this morning BM> Governor Pritzker (Illinois) is planning to sign an order to BM> essentially extend the shutdown until May 30th. Appears this one will BM> allow some businesses to re-open but require social distancing. The BM> news blurb didn't go into details; maybe none available yet. Nothing BM> mentioned on what Governor Reynolds (Iowa) is going to do; I'd expect BM> something similar. Sounds a lot like what I'm hearing various states are doing... :) BM>> As for Autumn, she hasn't really wanted to go outside when here; the BM>> weather hasn't been all that nice -- cold and windy. Good news: she BM>> has passed whatever test it is to get into First Grade. :) Needed BM>> 100% in the test, she had been missing one point the past several times BM>> (so 98%) -- from what we were told more from boredom or "that's enough BM>> of that for now". Plus sometimes she likes to screw around to see if BM>> we're paying attention, so maybe the same with the test. NB>> She reminds me of other kids that are too smart for their own good NB>> sometimes.... :) Good that she passed that test, though... :) BM> Yes on the smart-off stuff. LIS she likes to give the wrong answer to BM> see if we're paying attention, or maybe the artist in her kicks in and BM> she sees/interprets the pattern outside of the rules. One thing she'll need to learn soon is when to use that strength, and when to follow the rules.... ;) BM>> My Mother said she got about a foot of snow. Fast-forward to now (!), BM>> here we've supposed to have been getting 'accumulating snow' the past BM>> several nights - so far nothing. This morning's forecast is for BM>> overnight snow flurries - we'll see! NB>> We've only had snow in dribs and drabs, too... hardly accumulating... NB>> but my sister, a little south of here was getting it a couple inches NB>> at a time... it is, though, colder than it should be this time of NB>> year... BM> All that makes the weather interesting: one usually assumes north is BM> colder so that's where the snow would be. Probably a lot of terrain BM> factoring in: funneling in rain or snow in one area and leaving BM> another dry. Where she is, it is a higher elevation than here in town... and she gets lake effect storms off the end of Lake Erie from the Buffalo region that we miss being further north... we only get stuff off Lake Ontario... BM>>> the Burning Bush doesn't look too good: several of the trunk branches BM>>> have lost bark, so dead. Some were dead when I trimmed in the Fall and BM>>> didn't get to cutting out, so might not be too many newly-dead, or BM>>> even any. A slightly later project to clean that out. Last couple of BM>>> days we're clearing leaves from around the perennials and shrubs. So BM>>> far will be too cold this morning (30ø) and supposed to rain later. NB>>> This time of year things are just too changeable... we've had a couple NB>>> of really warm days for April, last few and today... upper 50s and NB>>> today upper 60s... but before that it was in the 40s and below, and NB>>> coming up will be more cool weather... and actually not all that rainy NB>>> for an April, though there's been enough of that, too... ;) Hopefully NB>>> you'll get a good day for dealing with that Burning Bush plant... and NB>>> hopefully some will have survived... :) BM>> Yes -- I'm not planning on trimming out anything unless it looks BM>> definitely dead, as in lack of bark. Weather lately hasn't been nice BM>> enough to do much outside. NB>> Similar here... :) BM> Raining/drizzling this morning. I have the south window somewhat open BM> up here in the Computer Room to get some fresh air; was going to open BM> the window on the north end some: rain hitting the screen! Think I'll BM> leave that one closed for now. Yeah... I'd leave that one closed, too... ;) BM> Trees and shrubs are budding but seems slower: doesn't seem to be much BM> difference since last weekend. Things are looking positively springlike here now... yesterday saw my first dandelions... bright little yellow dots in my neighbor's lawn... ;) NB>> Breaking the message here.... BM> It's only at 179 lines! But that broke it pretty evenly into half.... :) ttyl neb .... The places where trails do not exist are not well marked. --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .