Persistent rains last week closed roads, flooded the Winfield Fairground, threatened the Winfield sports complex and forced some families from their homes, but caused no injuries or serious accidents that were reported.
“Hopefully, we’re past the worst,” said Bob Frazee, assistant emergency manager for Cowley County. “I’m a lot more comfortable now than I was two days ago.”
The county has already received as much rain as it normally receives throughout an entire year, but both the Walnut and Arkansas rivers have crested and are slowly falling below flood levels.
“It looks like Wednesday night into Thursday, there is another chance of thunderstorms,” Frazee said.
The Walnut River at Winfield crested at 35.8 feet at 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Flood stage is 18 feet. At 10 a.m. Monday, the river had dropped to 32.4 feet and was expected to fall below flood stage at Winfield before noon Tuesday.
In Arkansas City, the Walnut crested at 26.12 feet at 8 p.m. Sunday. It was originally predicted to crest Sunday morning at 24 feet. It was at 24.1 feet at 10 a.m. Monday and forecast to fall below flood stage of 18 feet Tuesday afternoon.
The Arkansas River at Ark City crested Saturday night at 23.14 feet. Flood stage is 17 feet. It was at 18 feet Monday morning.
Chestnut Avenue, east of the bypass. was still closed Monday morning by Walnut River flood waters. Several families who live on Cowley 17, or Greensfarm Road as it is known, are familiar with the river and its flood history, and elected to evacuate, according to Frazee.
Some city streets on the west side of Ark City were flooded for a time. Only one lane of Kansas Avenue east of the bypass was open to traffic at one time. The city opened some storm water gages Sunday morning to keep rain water from running back into the city.
“That’s where the problem has been the last few days,” Frazee said Sunday.
A portion of Cowley 1 south of Silverdale, in southwestern Cowley County, was washed out by Grouse Creek flood waters. Grouse Creek enters the northwestern portion of the county and flows south near Cambridge, east of Burden, and passes Dexter and Silverdale before leaving the county.
Frazee said Grouse empties into the Arkansas River and both the Ark and Walnut rivers empty into Kaw Lake. The Corps of Engineers put a flood gage on the Grouse at U.S. 166 earlier this year. A rain gage was also added.
“Kaw Lake is full and they are now dumping 26,000 cubic feet per second,” Frazee said. The normal pool level is 1.013 feet. The elevation currently is high at 1.044 feet, he said.
That’s good news for fisherman who tell Frazee the best fishing is just south of Kaw Dam during a controlled release.
Ark City recorded 15 inches of rain during the month of June. From last Tuesday through Saturday, 9.09 inches fell in Ark City.
The town usually averages 32 to 34 inches a year; 34 inches of rain has fallen in Ark City since Jan. 1, according to Frazee.
At Strother Field, 13.69 inches of rain fell during June; 7.81 inches just since last Tuesday.
County Emergency Manager Brian Stone estimated that Northeastern Cowley County received between 12 and 16 inches of rain during the five day period that ended at 7 a.m. Sunday. The remainder of the county received eight to 12 inches during the same five day period, he said.
Just on Thursday, 2.65 inches fell four miles northeast of Winfield, 4.09 inches at Cambridge and 4.23 at Atlanta, according to Stone.
On Friday, 3.97 inches fell four miles east of Winfield and 4.42 inches fell at Cambridge. “That’s over eight and one-half inches (at Cambridge) just Thursday and Friday,” Stone said. “And that doesn’t include Leon or Latham or Dexter’s (readings) and others that feed Grouse Creek.”
Some residents of the Dexter nursing home had to be moved from one wing to another because of sewer problems. A family south of Dexter moved furnishings from the main floor to a second floor of their home. One family chose to leave early as a precaution and Grouse Creek waters actually got into the basement of a third house.
All in all, Stone thought five families were affected in some way by Grouse Creek flooding.
“Things like this tend to bring out the best in people,” Stone said. A number of area fire departments answered a call for help filling sandbags at Dexter, he said.
Cowley and Chautauqua counties are included in a disaster declaration issued Saturday. Stone said anyone with flood insurance should contact their insurance agents first. Anyone with an uninsured loss should contact his office at 221-0470 or 442-4569 and leave their name and telephone number. Should any federal funding become available for uninsured loss, Stone’s office will contact the people who left their names.
