Up to 375 flood gauges to turn off because of fund cuts

Doyle Rice, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Just in time for the spring flood season, the federal sequester is threatening to shut off funding for hundreds of stream gauges used by the U.S. Geological Survey to predict and monitor flood levels across the country.

"The USGS will discontinue operation of up to 375 stream gauges nationwide due to budget cuts as a result of sequestration," the USGS notes on its website. Additional stream gauges may be affected if USGS partners at state and local agencies reduce their funding support.

USGS is quick to point out, though, they won't take out of service the gauges now being used to monitor the heavy floods soaking the Midwest. Robert Mason, deputy chief of the USGS Office of Surface Water, says the USGS plans to prioritize those gauges that are used by the National Weather Service for forecasting, so that the impact of the cuts is minimized.

In all, a total of 682 gauges have some level of funding issues (some of the gauges may not be shut off entirely). The USGS, which operates about 95% of the gauges, is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

"Even though the operation of most stream gauges is highly automated, the gauges still require periodic instrument and ratings calibration, communication adjustments, battery replacement and site maintenance (especially after high water events)," Mason says.

"It is a highly field and labor intensive operation," Mason says. He says the total yearly maintenance and upkeep cost of all 8,000 gauges is $150 million.

Flooding kills more than 90 Americans each year, according to the National Weather Service. As recently as 2011, flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers cost $5 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. In 2008, flooding in the Midwest in 2008 led to $15 billion in damages.

The shutoff of the gauges could start as early as Wednesday. Although gauges have been shut off in the past because of budget cuts, "we have just not faced this drastic a cut in decades, if ever," Mason says.

Flooding will remain a major concern over the next few days and weeks in the Midwest: Though flooding on the Mississippi River is easing slightly, flood fears are on the rise in North Dakota and Minnesota, primarily along the Red and Souris rivers, the weather service says.

River levels on the Souris and Red rivers in North Dakota are beginning to increase as warmer temperatures in the 60s and 70s allow the snowpack to melt this weekend. Parts of Minnesota and North Dakota remain under as much as a foot of snow in some spots.

Much of the existing snowcover in the northern Plains and upper Midwest will melt this weekend into early next week, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. As this happens, he says the water locked up in the snow (the equivalent of 2 to 6 inches and in some cases more) will be released.

Stream and river rises are likely from Friday through the weekend, along with an increased risk of overland flooding. Flood watches and warnings are now in effect in northern North Dakota, the weather service says.

Weather service hydrologists project the Red River in Fargo to reach major to near-record stages next week because of melting snow and minor rainfall events.

Preparations have been underway to protect the cities of Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., against a river level of 41 feet. However, flooding of unprotected areas begins well below this level.

Along the Mississippi River, the biggest concern was that the flooding is expected to linger into May, potentially straining longstanding earthen levees and hastily built sandbag walls. No towns were in imminent danger as of Thursday.

Contributing: Associated Press