The waters are gone, for the most part

Sunny and the mid 80's.  A good day to go view the aftermath of the flooding and to give some perspective.  It's hard to think that just a few weeks ago where Molly is standing, there was water.  And a LOT of it.  Molly stands at 5' 4".  Where I'm standing at the top of the stairs was under about a foot of water.  Made it through another flood.  Let's hope that this is the last for a while

Looks like one last update for this round of flooding fun

We got the call this afternoon from the school district.  The kids go back on Monday.  Huzzah!  We did a quick drive around tonight and saw that indeed the water level is going down.  The Zoar Bridge is about as flooded as it was at this time last week.  From what we've heard, the folks that live on Michael Lane are now able to get out without having to go through water.  St. Rt. 212 still remains closed for now.  The state troopers are heavily patrolling the area and ticketing anyone that goes around the high water/road closed signs, so I dared not go around the one sign.  Which was good because as we came up to it, a trooper was coming out from the closed area.
So, we made it though another one.  Let's hope that this is that last one for a long while.  Or, at least another three years.

Possibly not good news for graduating Seniors from TVLS

One of the annoying effects of the flood is that the kids are missing school because of this flooding.  Today, district superintendent Mr. Mark Murphy made the following statement.

Photo credit:Tusky Valley Local Schools website

(The water in the picture above is a lot higher then it was Saturday)
"Our most recent update from the US Army Corps of Engineers indicates that it is highly probable that flooding will force the district to be closed for the duration of this week.  As you know, numerous township and county roads in the TV district are flooded and impassable.  In addition, State Route 212, the main thoroughfare of the district running east to west, is flooded in several locations.  Transportation is literally severed in multiple locations throughout the entire district. As I’ve mentioned before, to ensure the safety of all students and staff, school will be closed until further notice from me using the phone notification service.

In addition, until official notification is given that school is back in session, all district and school-sponsored extra-curricular activities, practices, rehearsals, and events will be canceled. 

Lastly, to ensure compliance with law and Ohio Department of Education requirements, the graduation date and end of the year schedule for seniors are under close review by Mrs. Huth and our guidance office.  Seniors and parents will be notified about potential changes once school is back in session.  

Again, on behalf of our Board and staff, I thank you for your patience and cooperation.  I encourage all students to remain mentally active.  Read ahead, brush up on math work, complete assignments, help around the house and in your neighborhood, and take advantage of community service opportunities."
Source: http://www.tuskyvalley.k12.oh.us/Districtpage.asp

One parents opinion, (mine), send them on Saturday's to make up the lost days.

Woohoo! It's leveling off!

It's looking like the worst may be over for us here in Northern Tuscarawas County!  Just looked at the levels behind Dover Dam and they are finally leveling out.  Even better news, Fox8 was in the area today shooting footage for their story they ran and they showed someone making it through the water to get out of the Cherry Hill development.  So those folks I'm sure are breathing a sigh of relief I am sure.  Hopefully the kids will not be out of school too long after all. 
For now, I will continue to post as needed.  But it looks like, for now, that we are on the downward trend.

Tusky Valley could be closed most of week, due to flooding - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

Ok, so now they are saying the water level will crest Tuesday. Then again, we are suppose to get rain Tuesday night into Wednesday.
"Nick Krupa, operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office near Dover Dam, said Sunday night water in the Tuscarawas River behind Dover Dam is projected to crest Tuesday."
Maybe it's time to start making the back roads more stable and suitable for bus transportation?

Tusky Valley could be closed most of week, due to flooding - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

Things are settling off, thankfully

Just a quick update since there isn't much else to report.  It appears that the levels are slowly starting to level out like predicted yesterday.  Looking at the water going under the bridges outside Zoar, it's not rushing like it did yesterday.  I did increase overnight still and covered the old iron bridge outside of Zoar

We walked across this yesterday

The Michael Lane and St. Rt. 212 intersection is underwater, but luckily only by several inches and not feet. If the water level has crested, then it should only be a couple of days until it receeds enough for the folks living there to get in and out without any problems.

Still have yet to receive word if the kids are going to be in school tomorrow or not.  The "back way" into and out of the schools is open, but not the best of roads.  We'll probably hear something soon.  Until then, the kids will just have to wait.

UPDATE: As soon as I hit Publish Post on blogger, the phone rang. It was the schools.  They are closed until further notice. 

Well, some good news

They don't expect the I-77 interchange to be shutdown at least. And the water should crest Sunday night.
"Based on no significant rain in the immediate forecast, Route 800 in northern Tuscarawas County and the I-77 at Route 212 interchange near Bolivar are expected to remain open, said Nick Krupa, area operations manager for the Army Corps. Recent rains and melting snow have pushed water levels higher, however, no more rain is in the forecast until Wednesday.

Because it didn’t rain Saturday, Krupa expects area lake levels to crest. The pool area behind Dover Dam is expected to crest tonight (assuming they mean Sunday night, March 13 since it is from that edition-AD) and at Bolivar Dam later this week. Although Leesville Lake is still rising, if it crests as expected today it will be about a foot higher than any time on record since 1948."

Read the whole story on The Times Reporter website via the link below.
Rising waters near Zoar force evacuation

Get out the life jackets, we're taking on water!

It's no longer a matter of if or when here in Northern Tuscarawas County, it's a happening now.  Denise, Molly and myself went all over the area this morning to see what's going on with the water levels.  Here's the breakdown.

• St. Rt. 212 is closed from Zoar to St. Rt. 800.  SE of Zoar around the train bridge, the road is underwater.  It continues to be underwater on and off all the way down to Rt. 800.  Tusky Valley Road, the road leading to the high school and middle school, is underwater at the intersection of 212.

Tusky Valley Road and St.Rt. 212

St. Rt. 212 near Zoarville.

St. Rt. 212 near Zoarville looking towards St. Rt. 800

• The water is starting to come up on the deck of the Zoar Bridge.  The Dover-Zoar Rd. bridge appears to have several feet before that is in trouble.

The Zoar Bridge is getting wet again

Dover-Zoar Road bridge

• St. Rt. 212 east of 800 is about to be covered.  Water is on the road and the wind is pushing it further, along with the rising water.  That will probably be closed soon.
• Canal Road just south of 212 is closed.
• Michael Lane just outside of Zoar is suppose to be blocked off by tomorrow.  The water is creeping up on the road now.

St. Rt. 212 and Michael Lane, (Cherry Hill) intersection

• Water is touching the bottom of the bridge over the Tuscarawas River on 212 near the I-77 interchange.  It doesn't look like water is going to cover it any time soon, but that all depends on what is released from the Bolivar Dam as well as whatever else we get from upstream.  The snow has REALLY melted off that we had gotten yesterday.

The bridge over the Tuscarawas River near the I-77 interchange

•  There appeared to be at least four gates open at the Dover Dam.  They need to open another, maybe.

 

• Roads around the Atwood Lake region are also in jeopardy of being covered soon.  The road leading to the Lighthouse Bistro is real close to being covered.  Also noted that there is no water being released from Atwood Lake.  Make sense because there is no place for it to go on the other side.  The emergency overflow has a lot of water backed up onto it towards the bottom. 

The homes south of Mineral City that are normally cut off, are.  Like I stated yesterday, nobody is dying from this.  Just an inconvenience and a bit of a pain in the rear.  One that seems to be happening about every three years unfortunately.  Would be nice if they got this figured out so it would stop happening.
Here's the full set of pictures from today.

The water rises, but it doesn't matter.

Perspective is everything.  These past three rounds of flooding that we've had here in Northern Tuscarawas County has seemed like it's a big deal.  Sure, roads close.  Kids are out of school for some time as the water covers the roads.  But, nobody dies.  Waking up this morning, the only thing on my mind was how much did it snow last night and will the kids have school.  Then I went out and turned on the news and saw the story unfolding from Japan.  A terrible scene indeed.  Nature at work.  First, the strong shaking of the ground followed by the wall of water, mud and debris sweeping over the countryside.  Puts our little inconvenience into perspective, doesn't it.  Once again, Mother Nature, you have shown us that you are boss.  We are not masters of our domain, we're just along for the ride and hopefully staying out of the way on this rock.  Nobody here has lost their lives due to the flooding so that is a good thing.  Tonight our thoughts and hopes are with the victims and their families.
As for the story around here, the water is getting higher.  Currently at 3:00 PM, the level behind Dover Dam is 897.82 ft and still going up. 

The kids told me when they got home that the buses took the back roads to bring them home because 212 is already covered with water.  So when this snow melts over the weekend, it will only add to the levels.  Like I said previously, no body is dying from this and there is no great loss of property.  Just an annoyance that when put into perspective, seems kind of small. But with all the snow this morning, it was beautiful out there.  I've posted pics on my Flickr stream. So over the weekend, I will likely be out with the camera capturing pictures of this.  Stay tuned.

Weather math!

This

(Currently 896.04 (ft) as of 8:00 AM on 3/10/11)
Plus 1.37 inches of local rain over the past 30 hours.  That is not counting the rain UPSTREAM.
Plus the 6-10 inches of snow possible tonight into tomorrow
Equals
My kids will be out of school for several days.  Currently, according to the USACE site, the are 4/10ths of an inch away from the main road leading to the schools being closed due to high water.  So, if in the next 24 hours the high water level doesn't shut things down, the snow likely will. It appears that we are on a three year (2005, 2008 and now 2011) cycle of heavy snows, heavy rains and high waters. I will try to get pics tonight after work.  Stay tuned!

With rain in forecast, close watch kept over Dover Dam - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

Okay. It was an issue with the equipment at the dam. The reports of roads being underwater were greatly exaggerated.

"Some area residents were concerned Tuesday morning when the corps’ website reported that the current pool at Dover Dam was at 900 feet — a level which would inundate several county roads as well as a portion of state Route 212 a half mile east of Somerdale. Leach said that reading was not correct.

“We had an outage with the gauge at the dam,” he said. “We’re working to get it back online.”

The correct reading was 894.95 feet Tuesday morning, and the water level was dropping."


With rain in forecast, close watch kept over Dover Dam - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

Yup. It's going up.

Denise and I took a spin around the area tonight to see how things are going.  The water is getting closer to 212 by the school.  Over by Zoar, it's really coming up and running fast. Normally, the stairs off the Zoar Bridge look like this

 

Tonight, however, it looks like this

Looking east down the river and a lovely fall evening, you may see a view like this

However, with the waters raging tonight, it looks more like this.

So as you can see, there is a lot of water flowing down the Tuscarawas River.  You can see the full set of tonight's pictures here on my Flickr account.  What's most impressive is the amount of water behind the Bolivar Dam. It's a LOT higher then it was the other day. So now we wait and see what the rains bring tomorrow. By the end of the week, it may be tricky to get around without flotation.

What a difference several hours makes

Last night, the water level behind Dover Dam was about 893.  This morning, the website is reporting 900 feet.  Up almost seven feet overnight!  And it was evident in Bolivar driving to work seeing the water on both sides of 212 at the 77 interchange.  Now with the water level reported being as high as it is, the roads leading to the schools should be underwater but the kids are there today.  Weird.

 

UPDATE! 9:50 AM

Ok, someone figured it out and fixed the website.  The water did rise overnight, just not as much.

Here's a quick link

To see the data regarding the pool height behind the Dover Dam, click here.  Luckily, it's been going down slowly today.  It came within exactly two feet of putting Canal Road underwater.  A close call today. Hopefully it will continue to drop some more tomorrow before MORE rain which is forecast for the middle of the week.  The fun never ends!

Tusky Valley schools on flood alert - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter

Here we go again, gang. Large amount of snow and ice over the winter months followed by a quick thaw and heavy rain. You think by know they would come up with better alternate routes to get the kids in and out of the schools.

Tusky Valley schools on flood alert - New Philadelphia, OH - The Times-Reporter