This summer’s relentless storms caused big floods and big expenses, according to city of Winfield officials who estimate that replacing gravel, moving a power line and shoring up damaged levees could cost up to $5 million.
Flood waters in late June and early July that swept through the Winfield City Lake spillway and drowned nearly every square inch of the Winfield Fairgrounds took their toll on protective levees, said Gary Mangus, assistant to the city manager. Mangus appeared before commissioners during Thursday afternoon’s work session where he broke the bad news.
Earlier in the week, city officials estimated the storm damage would cost at least $1 million. After a full assessment the estimate increased considerably.
“There are some (boulders) twice the size of cars that got moved” at the lake, Mangus told commissioners as the group poured over pages of photographs taken at the lake and around the city. “On the main diamond (at the fairground) most of the fence has been removed. That will be permanent.”
While most of the city’s residents are by now familiar with scenes of the fairground’s ripped chainlink fences and the split metal sides of damaged barns, some of the most expensive damage remains on the outskirts of town. Photos presented at the work session show acres upon acres of displaced gravel in the lake’s spillways and basin that will have to be moved back.
Much of the eroded gravel is lost and will have to be replaced to the tune of $1.5 million.
Even more costly is a major electric line that crosses Black Creek and connects with a substation somewhere between Broadway and Wheat Road, Mangus said. A series of floods during the 1990s, along with the latest deluge, have eroded away most of the bank, leaving electric poles teetering precariously on the creek’s edge.
The line will have to be moved and could cost $2.4 million in relocation expenses, Mangus said.
“It’s one of our major circuits that provides power to the city,” Mangus explained.
The city expects 75 percent of the cost to be paid by Federal Emergency Management dollars. The state’s share should come in at 10 percent, leaving 15 percent for the city to absorb. However, with other natural disasters such as the Greensburg tornado and last winter’s storm in western Kansas weighing heavily on the state’s already stretched resources, city commissioners aren’t holding their breath while waiting for state funds.
Instead, they are focusing on the job ahead, which involves bringing in engineers from the state’s dam safety and water resources department to test the stability of the city’s levees, Mangus said. With so much work to be done, final cost estimates could be in the distant future.
“It could be several months before we come back with a plan for the erosion issues,” said Mangus.
Other areas of Winfield hard hit by floods include $250,000 in damages at Quail Ridge Golf Course, $50,000 in damages at the Broadway Sports Complex and $15,000 in damages at Island Park. Mangus estimates fairground repairs could total $100,000.
The city commission will meet in regular session at 7 p.m. Monday in the community council room in the city building.
