6 Months After Flooding, Elba's Still In Pain

WCCO-TV

January 28, 2008

• Original WCCO-TV article: 6 Months After Flooding, Elba's Still In Pain 

Elba never was very big, but the flooding that wracked southeastern Minnesota last August has some people here concerned that the town could simply disappear.

Mayor Donny Ball fears that people moving away from flood-damaged homes on the city's central road could be the end of Elba. The town is seeking federal funds to repair dikes, improve stormwater drainage and fix damaged bridges.

Federal authorities may buy out up to 14 of roughly 35 homes in the city, which has a little more than 200 people, Ball said.

He lives on the central road, and two of his neighbors have already gone. Ball said they decided not to even try to rebuild after the Whitewater River flooded their homes in August.

"They told the bank to come and get it," he said.

Ball doesn't want to leave, but he said he's gotten only $13,000 in federal grants so far plus a sizable Small Business Administration loan. He's still waiting on word from Minnesota's Quick Start loan program.

"I

m the last one who wants to leave," Ball said. "When you do the buyout, you

re killing the town. But what can you do?"

Council member Scott Jensen said quick action is needed to prevent a population drain.

"Any town hates to lose people," Jensen said. "We have some empty houses right now."

The city owns and maintains its own dikes, and they were overtopped and damaged by the flooding. The city would like a study on repairing them and on possible stormwater projects. One proposal calls for the Army Corps of Engineers to repair and take ownership of the dikes.

Another proposal would pay for larger storm culverts and repair flood-damaged bridges along County Road 26. Almost all of the city's storm drains are old and too small, Ball said.

The drinking water reservoir also needs repairs, which may be too expensive for a town with almost no tax base, Jensen said.

The landscape around Elba still bears signs of the flood, with uprooted, mangled trees littering the banks of the Whitewater and ravines that have eroded through the hillsides that loom above the town. Winona County was given $130,000 in state money for debris removal; water planner Pat Bailey said the county is still "prioritizing" the use of those funds.

Ball said he hopes to stay in Elba even if his property is bought out, but he's not sure whether help is coming.

"We've got a hell of a mess," Ball said.

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