Important information from water management

Discussion

July 3, 2012

Important information from water management

Anonymous Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Tue Jul 03, 2012, 10:43 AM EDT

Live Oak — If you have questions about road conditions, call your local emergency management (links further down this page) or use the FHP incident mapper. For river and forecast questions, you can call the National Weather Service in Tallahassee (850-942-8833) or Jacksonville (904-741-4370). Read the note further below before calling about dam breaks, please.

Suwannee and Withlacoochee:

According to the National Weather Service, the area of highest rainfall from Tropical Storm Debbie in Hamilton and Columbia counties exceeded the 0.2% (500-year) event. Debbie rainfall for the District ranged from 6" to 26". The average SRWMD rainfall for June was the highest of all Junes since 1932, and the highest of any month.
Flood warnings remain in effect for the Suwannee River at White Springs, Suwannee Springs, Wilcox, Manatee Springs, and Fowler Bluff.
The Suwannee at White Springs crested Wednesday with an unofficial stage of 85.23, the third highest flood at White Springs exceeded only by 1973 (88.56) and 1984 (85.36). Record-keeping at this gage started in 1906. The 32' rise in two days appears to be the fastest by far in the record, beating a 20' rise in 2 days in 1996. Early morning on the 26th the river was rising 2.4 feet per hour. White Springs should fall below flood stage late next week.
The Suwannee at Suwannee Springs crested with an unofficial stage of 70.27, and should fall below flood stage by next weekend.
The Suwannee at Ellaville, Dowling Park, and Branford are not expected to rise above flood stage at this time, but the levels will be the highest since 2009.
The Suwannee at Manatee and Fowler Bluff are expected to crest below flood stage. New data from the repaired Wilcox gage is still being processed by the NWS, but the gage appears to be near crest below 9.
Nobles Ferry and lower Alapaha: Nobles Ferry gage crested about 15 feet below the 2009 flood.
Withlacoochee people in the vicinity of CR 141 Bridge need to monitor the Ellaville gage during this event. As the Suwannee rises, it will back up the Withlacoochee at the lower end. The Ellaville gage and the CR141 gage are reporting essentially the same levels now, so use the Ellaville forecast as an estimate of the rise at CR141. The gage at CR 6 at Blue Springs is also rising in response to the Suwannee, but levels will remain relatively low at the CR 6 Bridge.

Santa Fe

Flood warnings are in effect for the Santa Fe at Fort White, Three Rivers, and Hildreth.
The Santa Fe above O'Leno State Park near I-75 and at the US 441 Bridge near High Springs have crested.
The Santa Fe near Fort White at the 47 Bridge crested at an unofficial stage of 32.24. This was the highest stage since 1998.
Three Rivers is above flood stage. It crested yesterday at an unofficial stage of 23.29. Hildreth at the US129 bridge appears to be cresting at 21.5. SRWMD staff advises residents to keep an eye on these gages until Branford starts to fall.
No-wake restrictions are in effect for the Santa Fe between O'Leno River Rise and the Suwannee confluence.

Regarding rumors of a dam: There is no operational dam on the Suwannee River or in the Okefenokee Swamp. No one has opened any dam, nor has any dam failed. The Suwannee flooding is the result of a large swath of 20-25" rain downstream of the Okefenokee in Columbia and Hamilton Counties. There is an old pair of control structures embedded in a 5-mile-long dike south of the Okefenokee. All that's left of the structures, built in 1960, is crumbling concrete and broken floodgates that remain permanently open, allowing for continuous free flow of water from the Swamp to the Suwannee. The project was intended to hold back water into the Swamp during drought but did not work as intended. Picture of "Dam" at Okefenokee

Gage Status: The Wilcox gage is appearing on the SRWMD river levels page, but not yet on the NWS forecast page. The automated gage at Suwannee at Benton was knocked out by a vandal with a shotgun and will be available again soon. The O'Leno gage at I-75 was repaired by the USGS after it was knocked over by floodwater, but it will not be posted on our webpage until further notice.

An Incident Mapper is available from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Click balloon markers to see oblique views of flooded areas.

Forecasts

Summary of NWS Forecasts 7/3 8:00 a.m.

Important: The links below show only the river forecast (if available) for the next 5 days. If you are having trouble viewing these links, refresh your browser by using the refresh button or the F5 key.

Suwannee River at White Springs
Suwannee River at Suwannee Springs
Suwannee River at Ellaville
Suwannee River at Dowling Park
Suwannee River at Branford
Suwannee River near Wilcox (recent data may not be displaying, forecast is out of date as of 8 a.m.)
Suwannee River at Manatee Springs State Park
Suwannee River at Fowler Bluff
Santa Fe River near Hildreth (US129 Bridge)
Santa Fe River at Three Rivers Estates
Santa Fe River near Fort White
Withlacoochee River near Pinetta
Alapaha River at Statenville, Georgia
Aucilla River at Lamont
Econfina River near Perry (Salt Rd above US98) – (shows flood stage only)

All river forecasts are provided by the National Weather Service, as needed during times of high water. All persons with interest along the rivers should monitor the latest forecasts and be prepared to take necessary precautions to protect life and property.

Current Readings

River levels

Rainfall

Historical flood elevations (PDF, 75KB)

Boating Advisories/No-Wake Information

Watches/Warnings

National Weather Servce Jacksonville Office

National Weather Service Tallahassee Office

Automated Phone Line

The District offers a 24-hour voice recording of current river levels. To reach the recording, call:

386.362.6626

800.604.2272 (FL only)

Use the station extension codes to obtain information about specific monitoring stations.

Road Flooding and Emergency Assistance

Many access roads become impassable before rivers reach flood stage. Contact your county emergency management coordinator coordinator about road flooding.

Help for Homeowners

When Will Rising Water Reach My Home? (PDF, 20KB)

What Does Flood Stage Mean?

Disaster Assistance

1.800.621.FEMA (3362)
TTY 1.800.462.7585 (for the speech- or hearing-impaired)
Apply online at www.disasterassistance.gov
Please have the following information available when you call:
- A phone number in case we need to call you back
- Social Security number
- Current mailing address
- Address of the damaged property
- Brief description of damages
- Insurance information (if you have insurance)