Kuhle, Karen Letter re: DrainagMichael VanMilligan
City Manager
City Hall
Dubuque, IA 52001
Karen M. Kuhle
2662 Central Ave.
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-3339
August 23, 2002
Dear Mr. VanMilligan:
I am writing regarding the recent 8+ inch rain storm of August 21st. We have lived in the
2600 block of Central Avenue since 1973. In all those years, we have only had extreme water in our
basement three times, 1993, 1999 and again in June of 2002, (3 times more than we would like to
have experienced). After each flooding, the City cleaned out the 32nd Street retention basin and the
B-branch sewer line. We understand that this is done "routinely" ever three years, and that it was
done once again "after" the June flooding. The City's remedy to the flooding is to buy a bunch of
people's homes to put in a waterway. I do not thinkthat is really necessary. We had more rain on the
21~ of August than we did in June, and we only had a little puddle of water in our basement this
time. My mother-in-law, who lives on 26th and Washington, expressed the same to me. She had
major water on the same dates that we did in '93, 99 and in June of this year, but had none this time.
What does this show us? It seems to us that if the City would keep the 32nd Street basin cleaned every
year, as well as the B-branch sewer line, instead of waiting until after major flooding of homes, we
would not have the problems we have been experiencing since 1993. I have a feeling that the City
only cleans the retention basin and sewer line only every three years so that home owners do
experience the flooding so that the City can push through the waterway. I am no engineer, but it
doesn't seem to me that we need an outside consultant to see that keeping the basin and sewer line
clean seems to remedy the problem of basements flooding. I would think the cost to taxpayers would
be much less to keep the basin and sewer line clean than it would be to build the waterway'. I can
understand the need to make the 32nd retention basin larger to hold more water due to increased
construction on the hill, (which seems to be the cause of the flooding, since we first experienced our
basement flooding in 1993 -- twenty years after moving into our house, with major home
construction on the hill off of 32nd St. in the past ten years) and, it seems to me that if it is made
larger and kept clean, that the problems of water in basements on the north end would be solved, and
at a far less cost than building a waterway. I would think the City would at least look at that option
before spending so much money on a waterway that most people don't want.
Very truly yours,
_____________
Karen M. Kuhle
cc: Mayor Terry Duggan
City Mm~ger's Office
City Hah
50 West 13th Street
D~buque, Iowa 520014864
(563) 5894110 office
(563) 589-4149 fax
ctymgr~cityofdubuque.org
August 30, 2002
Ms. Karen Kuhle
2262 Central Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001-3339
Dear Ms. Kuhle:
Thank you for your letter dated August 23, 2002, regarding stormwater issues in
your area and the rainfall on August 21 and previous storm incidents. While
there is no doubt that cleaning the Bee Branch storm sewer improves the
drainage of the north end, numerous other factors determine the level of property
damage due to large rainstorms. The following points of interest may be
beneficial in the understanding of recent storms and the City's current direction.
Rainfall Distribution
It would be erroneous to believe that 8 inches of rainfall fell on the entire City in
August 2002. It is true that reported rainfall depths reached up to 8 inches in
various pads of Dubuque County. The National Weather Service reported 8
inches at the Dubuque Regional Airport, which is approximately 8.0 miles south
of Comiskey Park. Recorded rainfall depths in the Bee Branch basin (the
watershed basin where you live), ranged between 4.2 and 4.6 inches. In
comparison, the approximate rainfall depths recorded in the Bee Branch basin for
past storms were 6 inches in July of 1993, 5 inches in May of 1999, and 6 inches
in June of 2002.
Rainfall intensity
It takes time for rain to soak into the ground or collect in storm sewers. As a
result, flood damage is more likely when heavy rain falls over a shod period. In
May of 1999, the City received 6 inches of rain in 6 hours. Fortunately, the 4.2 to
4.6 inches the City received in August fell over an 18 to 20 hour pedod.
Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
Soil Moisture and Ground Cover
Runoff, by definition, is the portion of rainwater that vegetation does not intercept
and the ground does not soak up. Dubuque had not had any significant rainfall in
the two weeks before the August rainstorm; the dry ground was able to soak up a
significant portion of the rain. Unfortunately, the heavy rain in June was
preceded by rain just days before.
W. 32® Street Detention Basin Maintenance
White it is true the City has removed debds near the basin's outlet gate on
numerous occasions, silt has not been removed from the 32nd Street Basin since
the summer of 1999. However, it is the intent of the Engineering Division to hire
a contractor within the next two weeks to remove the small amount of silt that has
accumulated.
Increased Upstream Detention
A study of the Bee Branch basin determined two locations where detention can
help reduce downstream flooding in the Bee Branch basin. Doubling the storage
capacity of the existing W. 32nd Street detention basin and the construction of a
new detention basin located just west of Carter Road and south of Arbor Oaks
will reduce the flow to the Bee Branch storm sewer from the W. 32nd Street sub-
basin by eighty percent (80%). The City has purchased property for the Carter
Road detention basin and hopes to begin construction next year.
Re-Study of Bee Branch Drainaqe Basin
The City Council has directed City staff to employ a second consultant to study
the drainage of the Bee Branch basin. The first study not only recommended all
the additional detention mention previously be constructed, but a channel five (5)
times the existing size of the Bee Branch would have to be built to protect your
area from the 100 year rainfall occurrence.
The consultant, to be selected in early October, will review the past study
findings and find alternative solutions our community can agree with that will
keep stormwater out of basements.
To that end, the consultant hired for the re-study must establish channels of
communication that promote input from the approximately 1,150 at-risk property
owners. A Citizen Advisory Committee, a survey (questionnaire) of the 1,150
property owners, and public meetings with neighborhood groups will be a few of
the activities aimed at getting as many citizens involved as possible.
While we can agree that maintaining existing stormwater drainage facilities like
the Bee Branch storm sewer and the W. 32nd Street detention basin is important,
the City believes more needs to be done to prevent the flooding of basements in
your neighborhood.
Sincerely,_______________________
Michael C. Van Miligen, City Manager.