More river gauges coming to Haywood
File photo
Residents of Haywood County will have more information at their fingertips the next time flooding presents a risk, after Haywood County commissioners unanimously approved the purchase of seven new river gauges to monitor area waterways.
“Those gauges were integral in helping us monitor the river levels,” said Chair Kevin Ensley during a Feb. 3 meeting.
Since Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, the county has embarked on a campaign to bolster its early warning capacity for extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene, during which the existing gauges provided data to the North Carolina Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network.
A powerful interactive tool that displays data from nearly every flood gauge in the state, FIMAN is accessible at fiman.nc.gov, but it’s only as good as its gauges — some of which offer crest prediction. Additionally, users of the website can sign up to receive notification when certain gauges reach certain levels.
“It’s very beneficial, these sites, because certain sites have that ability … to predict when the peak of the river was going to occur, also when we’d get into a certain action stage and when the high flood level would be,” said Zack Koonce, Haywood County emergency management coordinator.
The new gauges come at a cost of $108,792; however, the purchase will be funded by a grant received from the Office of State Budget Management last summer. The purchase, from Leicester-based Distinctive AFWS Designs, was executed with an exception to state competitive bidding requirements because the company holds the patent on the software and is the only authorized supplier of the product.
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Five of the gauges will be used to replace existing gauges that were set up nearly two weeks prior to Helene that had been funded by Pactiv Evergreen. Two gauges will be placed at new locations — one on Allens Creek and one on Jonathan Creek, near the fire department.
Koonce said existing gauges helped his department prepare for and respond to Helene, and likely helped protect property and save lives.
Currently, per FIMAN, there are 18 gauges in Haywood County, from Newfound Road in the east to Dellwood in the west, and from Big East Fork in the south to Cataloochee in the north.
