Silver Jackets study to begin

Hartley residents need not fret if they see an unmarked pickup creeping through town over the next two weeks.

Iowa Silver Jackets will conduct its floodplain study of the City With a Heart July 18-29. The observation will consist of a hydraulic analysis of overland flows in Hartley and evaluate flood risk throughout the town based on current conditions and structure elevations.

According to a news release from Iowa Silver Jackets, initial project activities include data collection and site reconnaissance. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be surveying multiple locations in Hartley as part of an ongoing project to assess the floodplain and potential flooding impacts. USACE surveyors are scheduled to arrive Monday and will be operating out of large white trucks with government license plates. The surveyors will be onsite for no more than two weeks.

Locations of interest include:

• Hydraulic structures including but not limited to culverts and bridges;

• First floor elevations of residences and commercial buildings.

City officials learned Hartley would be a part of the Silver Jackets Program this year after applying several months ago.

"We thought it had fallen flat and we were exploring other options," Hartley Superintendent of Public Works Jaron Benz said during an April 11 city council meeting. "This doesn't get us anything structurally, but hopefully it gets us to a point where we can get some FEMA funding for [flood] mitigation."

Hartley officials have been discussing flooding issues for more than 10 years. When the area experiences heavy rainfall in a short amount of time, water inundates several portions of town. A particularly wet summer in 2018 led to extensive damage in Hartley homes due to flooding and sewer backups.

The Silver Jackets Program exists in all states and several territories, bringing together multiple state, federal, tribal and local agencies to learn from one another in reducing risk from floods and other natural disasters. According to the program's website, the teams enhance preparedness, mitigation, and response and recovery efforts by applying their shared knowledge.

Silver Jackets participants include state agencies with mission areas of hazard mitigation, emergency management, floodplain management, and natural resources management or conservation. Federal participation typically includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and often the National Weather Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as others. Resources for team activities come through the individual programs of each agency, within the constraints of available budgets.