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CLICK HERE
for information on ArkRIDE ride matching services(PDF).
 From
City of Benton Community Development Department
FLOOD WARNING INFORMATION SYSTEM UNVEILED AT BENTON
A flood warning information system for the City of Benton
was unveiled December 9 on the bank of the Saline River in
Benton. The flood warning information system relies on
information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gage on the
Saline River at Benton where streamflow (water volume per
second), stage (water level), and rainfall are monitored.
The gage transmits information hourly via satellite to a
publicly accessible USGS webpage. When any of three alarm
criteria are exceeded an alarm is triggered in the data
recorder which then initiates a series of phone calls to
select personnel at the USGS, City of Benton, and National
Weather Service (NWS). The criteria are: (1) rainfall rates at
the gage exceed 2 inches per hour, (2) the stage of the river
equals or exceeds 14.00 feet and and is rising by at least 0.5
foot per 15 minutes, or (3) the stage of the river equals or
exceeds 18.00 feet and is rising by at least 0.5 foot per 15
minutes. After verification that a flood event is imminent,
NWS and the City of Benton will issue an appropriate warning
to residents. The system is funded by the City of Benton and
USGS. The equipment gathering the data will be operated by
USGS.
The public can monitor water levels and rainfall at the USGS
webpage
http://ar.water.usgs.gov by selecting real-time streamflow
from the data center on the left side of the webpage. A link
to this webpage is available on the City of Benton webpage
http://www.benton.ar.gov/floodplain/links.htm.
“When our emergency responders were caught off guard last year
as the County experienced huge rain falls upstream from
Benton, we knew we needed to find a way to keep this from ever
happening again,” said Benton Mayor Rick Holland. “Because
Benton had received relatively light rain fall during this
time, we didn't know that the Saline River was going to
overflow Hwy. 5 near Riverside Grocery and that Hidden Creek
Mobile Home Park as well as the homes on River Street were
being flooded until our 911 center received a call. Through
Resolution 50 of 2009, an agreement with the U.S. Geological
Survey for the upgrading of the gaging station on the Saline
River to a Flood Warning Information Station has become a
reality. I want to commend Jim Towe, Community Services
Supervisor for his work on this project. Now that we have this
system in place we can warn our citizens in a timely manner
and evacuate those homes in danger ahead of the flooding. This
Flood Warning Information Station will now allow us enough
early warning time so that our personnel can be better
prepared to provide the help that our citizens need in case of
dangerous flooding in the future,” he continued.
“This flood information system will provide the City of
Benton, the National Weather Service, the public, and local
emergency personnel with timely information about individual
rainfall events and critical data needed for early warning of
imminent floods, thus minimizing impacts on human life and
property. The system will also provide long-term information
to water-resources planners associated with Benton and other
urban areas of Arkansas,” said Bob Blanchard, a hydrologist
with the USGS Arkansas Water Science Center in Little Rock.
“It has been the mission of the National Weather Service to
protect life and property from weather related hazards since
1870. This gage will be another tool we can use to assess the
possible dangers of a heavy rainfall event and how it may
impact this watershed upstream from the City of Benton,” said
John Robinson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS
Office in Little Rock. “On an annual basis, flooding claims
more lives than tornadoes or lightning,” Robinson added.
The gage can be reached from U.S. Interstate Highway 30 by
taking exit 116 at Benton. Immediately after exiting off the
Interstate, turn right onto Sevier St. heading west for 0.8
mile. Turn right onto King Road which dead ends at the gate to
access gage.
The USGS operates a network of more than 150 streamgages
throughout Arkansas and provides this real-time information to
NWS, where it is used for flood forecasting and to notify
emergency managers. Field personnel collect data or the gages
relay it through satellites to offices where it is processed
automatically in near-real time. In many cases, the data are
available online within minutes.
From
City of Benton Personnel Department
CURRENT JOB OPENINGS:
- Patrol Officer
- Firefighter
CLICK HERE for job opening
information.
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