Flood Watch 1998

Need help?
Non-emergency help from the authorities -- Call 311
Emergency help from the authorities -- Call 911

Questions about flooding, getting assistance or volunteering:

William O'Connell,Naglee Park Prepared Coordinator, 286-9341

Area coordinators:
Ken Hayes (938-0445)
Jeff Hare (292-1826)
Judy Huntington (289-8139)
Linda Muralidharan (998-8204)

1. Each of us is first responsible for ourselves, for our families, and for our own property.
   
   
2. As we set out to help others, we must respect the privacy, the property, and the choices of those in need.
   
   
3. We are volunteers, only more-or-less trained in emergency work. We must not seek to help beyond the level of our expertise. To do otherwise increases rather than solves the problem.
   
   
4. Police, fire, and other emergency personnel will be in charge. We are there to supplement their efforts or to act in their stead if they have more serious jobs elsewhere.
   
   
5. The first priority is to insure the safety of persons. Then we will attempt to save property.
   
   
6. Much has been done in preparation for the creek flooding. What is left to be done is to be ready to move personal belongings as they become endangered, to support emotionally those who are in distress, to open our homes if necessary to those who may be temporarily displaced or who are helping others and in need of respite, to get this word out to others, the many, who do not have access to our net, to support one another as we go about helping others.
   
   
7. We are a concerned, talented, growing-close community. Let's do it!

Please address your questions about flooding or requests for assistance to any of the area coordinators: Ken Hayes (938-0445), Jeff Hare (292-1826), Judy Huntington (289-8139), Linda Muralidharan (998-8204).

Top

Naglee Park Flood Preparation News

Yawn.

February 14:

12:00 p.m. Water is 20.5 feet below the bridge. Edenvale meter at 963 cfs and rising.

February 12:

8:30 a.m.: Edenvale flow meter reading has declined steadily to 1165.

February 11:

7:30 a.m.: Coyote Creek is down to 16 feet below the bridge deck, and "only" 75 feet wide.

Intermittant rain.

February 10:

9:00 a.m.: The Edenvale stream flow has dropped steadily, and is down to 2400 cubic feet per second.

Intermittant rain.

February 9:

This big news story today is, this is a beautiful, sunny day!

7:30 a.m.: Water down slightly, to 8 feet under the William Street Bridge. Mercury News reported three houses on 17th were damaged last night. The Edenvale stream flow has been falling since 6:00 last night, from 4300 cubic feet per second to 3900 now.

February 8:

9:00 p.m. Water at 82.5' marker. It's lapping around the cul-de-sac houses trashed by last year's flood, and some lawn nearest the bridge in the park is underwater.

6:00 p.m. Flooded cottage on 17th pictured on 6 o'clock news.

4:30 p.m. Water is up to 81' marker (i.e. above sea level) at the bridge. Three TV crews are parked there.

11:00 a.m. KLIV (1590 AM) reports that City officials now expect Coyote Creek to flood the Edenvale area around 8-11 p.m.

10:00 a.m. Coyote Creek appears relatively low. It is at 69 feet elevation by the scale painted on the William Street Bridge supports. For reference, water would hit the bridge if it hits 90 feet. The day isn't over yet.

8:00 a.m. Day starts with Andersen 3 feet over the spillway and rising. It has filled by 25% of its capacity in 5 days; rain still falls; everyone wondering what this is going to mean here later today.

February 7:

Volunteers sandbagged houses on Arroyo Way. Still raining. Andersen Reservoir is now 86/89ths full and is expected to spill between 6-8 p.m. today. The flow will reach Naglee Park about 12 hours after that.

February 6:

High winds last night felled some trees, blocking William Street near Olinder School, Margaret Street near 12th. A couple of fences went down.

February 5:

Water district stream gages come online for public access

February 3

At 3 a.m. today the Fire department folks awoke some residents on 17th near Santa Clara to say Coyote Creek was threatening their homes. CCA Disaster Preparedness members, neighbors, and relatives of the residents hauled belongings to safety until 5 a.m.

Andersen Reservoir reached 77% of capacity.

Top

Good Advice

Sandbags are available at William Street Park.

Flooding can occur in areas located away from the creek itself, through storm sewer blockage and ground water. WARNING: IF YOU HAVE A BASEMENT, think about raising stored items off of the floor or removing them to upper floors. IF YOU LIVE NEAR A STORM DRAIN INLET, remember that flapper valves on the outlets are designed to shut when the creek water reaches certain levels, and storm water runoff will back up, causing localized flooding. If you have a garage door lower than the curb, for example, this could result in water coming into your garage.

If you haven't already done so, make certain your rain gutters and down spouts are clean, and that they are draining away from your foundation. You can purchase lengths of ABS plastic pipe or simple plastic tubing (like garbage bag strength) to direct this water away from your house. Check your neighbor's rain spouts to make certain they aren't aimed at your house.

Contamination Alert: Remember, storm water runoff is not only dirty, but is highly contaminated. Many of us who waded through the water putting up sandbags last year got rashes where our skin came in contact with the water. Rubber boots and gloves are highly recommended.

Unlike the storms in 1995 and 1997, which caused flooding of either Guadalupe Creek or Coyote Creek, respectively, the impacts of this storm will be felt on BOTH creek systems, as well as all others in the County. This will impact emergency response capabilities, and may make travel much more difficult throughout the area.

As always, power outages are possible, so make sure you have candles, flashlights, batteries and drinking water. A water main broke in Milpitas, and for several hours the tap water was not safe to drink. Stock up on Smoothies!!

Good luck!

Top

Training in Disaster Preparedness Cancelled

22 February: We regret to announce that we have decided to cancel the Emergency Preparedness Training for Naglee Park residents scheduled for Saturday, February 28, at San Jose Hospital.

We have learned that it is a three-day weekend for San Jose School District, so a number of residents will be out of town. As a result, only 14 people have registered. With no-shows inevitable, we have decided to regroup, decide how we can make the training more attractive, and choose a date without conflicts.

The preparation for flooding has paid off, so we still are convinced that emergency preparedness is important for our neighborhood. We are not giving up on earthquake preparedness for our neighborhood.

San Jose Prepared trainings are available for those who wish to take them, and CCA will reimburse you for the tuition. Please call (286-9341) for information.

Top

What the stream gages mean to Naglee Park

There are two gages for Coyote. The one at Madronne is just below Anderson Dam, and will be low when they are not releasing or spilling water, but a significant indicator once Anderson starts to spill. The next gage to watch is the one at Edenvale. But keep in mind that Lower Silver Creek flows into Coyote below this gage, and remember than about one-half of the watershed for Coyote Creek is below the dam. So, Coyote could reach the 4,000 cfs flow rate through downtown without any indications on the gages!! Remember, the flooding on Super Bowl Sunday in 1997 occurred when the creek reached a flow rate of 6,500 cfs.

According to the District, the water takes 12 hours to reach downtown from the Madronne gage, and 6 hours from Edenvale gage.

The water level here is indicated by the markings on the William Street Bridge. The bottom of the bridge deck is marked 90 feet (above sea level). Normally, the stream is way below the lowest marking, which is 70 at feet above sea level.

Top