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Better defense Hundreds of people who suffered through the 1997 deluge figure flood-control projects have made them safer By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Dora Pyle sits in a 5-year-old chair that rests atop 5-year-old carpet in a 5-year-old mobile home, all ever-present symbols of her life after the flood. Pyle's mobile home was one of 70 destroyed when a flooding Bear Creek charged through an old earthen levy and assaulted the 210-acre Bear Lake Mobile Estates in Phoenix during one of the more dramatic moments of what became known as the New Year's Day flood of 1997. "Good insurance," as the 84-year-old Pyle calls it, bought the new furniture and mobile home. But she believes the best insurance she has against future flood losses is a new, 7-foot-tall berm that defends the 26-acre park against Bear Creek and promises protection against the kind of flood expected to happen once every 100 years. And that's more than enough for Pyle. "It was bedlam, a lot of stress, for a while here," Pyle says. "But I feel comfortable now. I just have faith that everything's OK." Pyle is just one of hundreds of victims from the 1997 flood who believe they are safer now from waters' rage than they were five years ago, thanks to a bevy of flood-control projects. They share a notion that structural improvements - ranging from new culverts in Central Point to a wider bridge near Ashland's Plaza and better levies like that outside Pyle's door - are engineered defenses for beating back the elements. But homeowners still need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, because these structures are no panacea against nature's ability to turn water into a weapon. "I think people feel very confident about structurally engineered remedies, maybe almost too much," says Sandra Eccker, emergency management coordinator in Jackson County. "It's not to say they won't do their jobs. But there are (storm) events that exceed these structures' capabilities. "Everything," she says, "has its limitations." Knowing that, Eccker and others have worked closely with local governmental agencies on flood preparedness. In the '97 flood, emergency managers had to judge whether Bear Creek was rising or falling based on the eyeball analyses of Medford police officers standing on bridges. Now, Bear Creek and Little Butte Creek have new flood-warning systems that can better gauge the fluctuations of the water. Central Point built a $480,000 culvert to steer Griffin Creek under Scenic Avenue so it wouldn't spill over onto Nancy Avenue like it did in 1997, when local residents had to stack thousands of sandbags to keep the unruly creek out of their homes. "I feel real comfortable now that the new culvert's in," says Luann Allison, one of the flood's Nancy Avenue sandbaggers. "We haven't had to do anything to prepare for another flood. The city did it for us." New housing developments like one off North Ross Lane west of Medford have redesigned the antiquated irrigation ditches that overflowed and flooded residents along Thorn Oak Drive, so landowners such as Helen Donaldson don't fear rain like they once did. "I don't look for a flood," says Donaldson, a 40-year Thorn Oak Drive resident. "The water's all going where it is supposed to now, and it will later, so I don't sweat it." Neither does Anna Doyle, who bought a mobile home across from Pyle knowing fully of the flood's devastation in Bear Lake Mobile Estates - and believing faithfully in the new levy's ability to beat Bear Creek back next time. "We checked it out, and I really feel safe," Doyle says. "All of Medford will flood before we do." Jackson County has created a new program designed to physically help seniors during a natural disaster like a flood, while cities like Phoenix have developed flood-mitigation plans. The federal Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and manages eight dams in Jackson County, now plans to notify area agencies when water is released from the reservoirs created by the dams, Eccker says. In the past, the agency notified governments of potential dam failures. The city of Ashland is mulling whether to install an alarm system that would instantly alert downtown if the dam at Reeder Reservoir failed. And large boulders and other structures protect the fragile banks of Bear Creek in downtown Medford. Most of the projects are like the Griffin Creek culvert - they are designed to withstand a 100-year flood, which in hydrological lingo means a flood that has a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any given year. For many, that's about as good a guarantee as anyone can ask for. "But it's not a guarantee," counters Bob Pierce, public works director in Central Point. "I have a tremendous amount of faith in that culvert. But everyone needs to be aware that a big storm, a big flood, will still give us problems." Pyle certainly understands problems. She had a foot of unwelcome water in her home, destroying several albums of family photographs, all her furniture and the piano her late husband, Bill, bought her for her birthday. "It was real traumatic to go through it, and the things I lost I can't replace," Pyle says. "But I have come out of it fine." Residents throughout the Rogue Valley, whether victims or bystanders, are definitely more flood-savvy for having experienced New Year's 1997. "I think it was a reminder to people that flooding can happen, and you don't have to live near a river or in a floodplain to suffer from it," Eccker says. "Overall, I think the public is more aware of weather." And that includes Pyle, who watches in wonder when raindrops fall on the windows of her 5-year-old trailer. "I feel secure," she says. "But, when we get a real hard rain, I still do start to wonder." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.