DECORAH, Iowa (KCRG) – When Sean Snyder shut down a flood gauge in Kendallville last year, his phone rang. A neighbor who lives in a flash flood zone wanted to know if the warning system was gone.
“They got relief just knowing that I didn’t just shut it off. I replaced it with something else,” said Snyder, Winneshiek County’s emergency management coordinator.
Snyder said flooding from two major rivers is the biggest threat the county faces. For years, he relied on federal stream gauges run by the U.S. Geological Survey. But state budget cuts and rising costs mean he can no longer afford the federal gauges.
Federal gauges too expensive
“Just last year alone, I did end up decommissioning two of the USGS river gauges in Lime Springs and Kendallville, and I replaced them with a bridge sensor,” Snyder said. “It’s a one-time cost.”…