Gustav’s rains pour down on county
Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2008
Daily Record photograph by Charles Fowler Steady rain caused water to collect on and off the streets in Bentonville on Wednesday.
BENTON COUNTY - Welcome to Arkansas, Hurricane Gustav.
Anyone who has recently done a rain dance is getting his or her wish as the remnant of Hurricane Gustav fizzles out over northwest Arkansas for the next few days.
Currently a tropical depression, Gustav is bringing lots of rain and the potential for flash flooding to the county, which is expected to see anywhere from 4 to 9 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. With so much rainfall expected, Benton County officials are keeping a keen eye on the weather and its effects on the county.
"We are actively monitoring the storm to make sure everything is all right," said Josh Billis, a manager of Central Communications. "We are expecting a little bit of participation accumulation."
"Flash flooding is our biggest concern. You should not drive into water-covered streets; it only takes 6 inches of water to move a vehicle," Billis said, noting flood-prone areas include low-water bridges that are usually near creeks and spillways.
"It does not take a lot of water to wash a car off of the road," said Marshall Watson, director of the Benton County Department of Emergency Management. "More deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm-related hazard, and many of these occur in vehicles, so please, turn around; do not drown."
Steve Douglas, a supervisor with the Benton County Road Department, said county workers started patrolling county roads early Wednesday morning looking for downed trees, flooded areas and potential problems.
"All we can do now is play the waiting game and see how much water we get," Douglas said.
Two county roads were closed Wednesday. Logan Road at Osage Creek and Sears Road between Mill Dam Road and Lee Harris Drive in the southwestern portion of the county were barricaded late Wednesday afternoon, Douglas said.
The roads will be closed until the water recedes and could remain impassable for a couple of days, Douglas said.
Gustav's rains, though, are not necessarily all bad news for Benton County, according to Robert Seay, a county extension agent with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
"(The rain ) could be a blessing in disguise in terms of fertilizer prices going through the roof. As long as we have got this type of rain, there will not be much need for fertilizer," Seay said, noting that the rain will help promote healthy pasture growth throughout the county.
The rainfall will also give the county approximately a month and a half of "extremely good growth conditions for cool-season plants," Seay said.
"We have just had a threeyear period when this time of year was extremely rough in terms of soil conditions and the soil being dry, so the rain is extremely beneficial in terms of growing," Seay said. "This year has been unusual from the beginning, and it looks like it is going to be that way through the fall."
Of course, such a rainfilled summer also means that "all of the fields and pastures are sponged up, which brings on the issue of runoff," Seay said.
The rain, in combination with already saturated soil," creates impossible conditions to move over any type of soil surfaces," Seay said.
"It will be interesting to watch the lake levels over the next couple of days to see what it does," he said.
"So far, (Beaver Lake ) has only risen one-tenth of an inch," Alan Bland, a park ranger with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Wednesday afternoon. "We do not anticipate opening the flood gates."
The Corps will have a full forecast Thursday morning on how much it expects Beaver Lake to be affected by Gustav's rains.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, portions of southern Benton County received 4 inches of rain, while northern Benton County had only received 1 inch, Watson said.
"At this time, there is no (reason ) for significant alarm," he said. "Because of the new route the hurricane has taken, it looks like we are not going to receive the 13 to 14 inches (of rain ) originally predicted, but we will certainly see another inch, and possibly more, in localized areas."
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