Edina's Flooding Potential 'All Comes Down to Mother Nature'

Those wondering about potential flooding along Minnehaha and Nine Mile Creeks in Edina need to look no further than the skies and the dam water flow status at Lake Minnetonka.

“This all comes down to Mother Nature,” said Telly Mamayek, spokesperson for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District.

“There are a million possible scenarios,” added Kevin Bigalke from the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District.

Both creeks are brimming with water this week, especially in light of the recent rainfall and the projected precipitation in the coming days.

Already, parts of Minnehaha Creek are over the banks, although no situation exists that officials woudl label as "critical."

“We are facing roughly two months—which is the traditional rainiest part of the year—where everyone is going to be watching the situation very closely,” Mamayek said.

Earlier this week, Mamayek said the dam at the east end of Lake Minnetonka that controls the water flow into Minnehaha was set at 50 cubic feet per second of flowage. By Wednesday, it had to be increased to 250 cubic feet per second to alleviate high water in the lake.

“We are in a constant balancing act,” she said.

Several spots in Edina alongside Minnehaha Creek have already seen water creeping over the bank. A historically risky location is at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, on the corner of 50th Street and Wooddale Avenue.

“We had taken the sandbags the city provided in a few days ago and this morning when I came in, they were back in place,” said church spokesperson Gary Dietz.

The creek runs along the south side of the church property and is roughly 25 feet from the most southerly wall in the building. As of Wednesday, the western edge of the retaining wall along the creek had been breached by high water.

“The grass on the south side will probably get pretty wet, but if the water never reaches the windows on the south side, we are fine,” Dietz said.

Bigalke said Nine Mile Creek is over its banks in a few locations, but is not even close to threatening any property.

The most recent weather forecast calls for more rain over the next several days.

“We can’t control the weather and those living along the creeks simply need to stay on top of the situation, ”Bigalke said.

The City of Edina still has a sizeable quantity of sand bags—roughly 12,000—available for residents and business owners who may think they can use them in the days ahead.

To order sandbags to be dropped off, call Jesse Struve at (952) 903-5713.