Oxbow Mayor Jim Nyhof was playing fast and loose with the facts in his July 10, 2015 letter to the editor in the Fargo Forum.
Mr. Nyhof states:
“The flood of 2009 reached near a 100-year flood stage in my community.”
Mr. Nyhof clearly has no knowledge of the flood levels reached during the 2009 flood in the City of Oxbow.
Documentation contained in the FM Diversion Detention “White Paper” and July 2012 FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Cass County decidedly contradict Mr. Nyhof’s underwhelming representation in the magnitude of the flood battle Oxbow, ND residents faced.
During a June 13, 2014 meeting with Lee Beauvais, Moore Engineering (engineering firm that designed Oxbow’s flood protection in 2010), Beauvais confirmed that the Oxbow, Hickson, Bakke area exceeded the 100 year flood level “by a long ways”.
Here are the facts:
The USGS recorded a March 26, 2009 peak crest of 39.04 feet at 23,700 CFS (cubic feet per second) of discharge reflecting 916.473 feet at the gage.
The FEMA 100 year flood BFE (base flood elevation) from the July 2012 FEMA Flood Insurance Study Number 38017CV000A (Cass County) is 915.8 feet, which is lower than the 2009 record crest of 916.473 feet by .673 feet (8.076 inches).
Table information contained in the FM Diversion Detention “White Paper” indicate the following flood hydrology levels at Hickson, ND to be:
| 100 year FEMA – | 14,173 cfs |
| 500 year FEMA – | 21,818 cfs |
| 2009 Historic – | 23,700 cfs |
Hmmm…, the 2009 event was larger…, how can this be?
Not only did Oxbow, ND exceed the FEMA and USACE 100 year flood stream-flows in 2009…, it exceeded the FEMA 500 year flood level as well.
Rather curious that Mr. Nyhof, a person self proclaiming oneself to be credible, honest and effective…, can’t even check a few honest historical details before playing fast and loose with the facts.
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