RNDC works to promote the development of the nine counties of Brown, Sibley, Nicollet, Le Sueur, Watonwan, Blue Earth, Waseca, Martin and Fairbault through intergovernmental cooperation, community and human development and long-range planning and technical assistance.

The delegation included Aachen County Commissioners Dr. Tim Grüttemeier; Head of Inward Investment and member of Aachen’s regional economic development agency Frank Leisten, Aachen regional economic development agency director Sven Pennings and Aachen City Region Council member Cyros Clermont.

The purpose of the tour was for the Aachen delegation and Region Nine stakeholder to discuss common interests between the two regions.

“We want to cooperate with our sister state,” Pennings said. “There is a strength in our relationship and a change for strong economic development.”

New Ulm City Engineer Joe Stahdeim gives members of the Aachen, Germany delegation and Region Nine members summary of the flood gate system used in New Ulm during a tour of the Minnesota River flood berm.

The economic development was one reason for the visit, emergency management and flood recovery were the main topics of conversations as the two regions faced extreme weather events in recent years.

During a stop at Turner Hall, Grüttmeier gave a summary of the flooding event that hit the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) region of Germany in July 2021. On July 10, July 13 and then July 14 the region saw heavy rainfall resulting in flash-flooding.

Grüttemeier said mathematically, the rainfall event that occurred should only occur once every 10,000 year. Nearly all the flood protection measures were built for a 100-year or 1,000-year flood and were insufficient to protect the region.

Around 180 people were killed in the flood, about 49 died in the NRW state. Critical infrastructure was affected by the flood and supply networks were destroyed. Some roads were only accessible by tank.

As a consequence of the flood, Aachen and other communities in NRW banded together to better monitor flood risk.

Dr. Tim Grüttemeier gives a presentation at Turner Hall on the July 2021 flooding in Aachen, Germany. One of the goals of the Aachen Delegations tour of Region Nine and New Ulm was to share flood recovery and mitigation strategies.

Grüttemeier said because of the flood, the region became aware of shortcomings in predicting flood events and warning the public. They found many members of the public were not aware of the warning systems in place. Through public education and the creation of simulation to help predict flooding, they have created a better early warning system.

Grüttemeier said they have a system in place to help better predict flooding, but the model is only precise up to six hours. The system cannot accurately predict flooding 48 hours ahead of time.

Another questions facing Aachen is where and how to build? Grüttemeier said the 2021 flooding taught Germany they need more space for water.

Following Grüttemeir’s presentation, Brown County Commissioner and New Ulm’s Police Chief David Borchert spoke on emergency planning. Borchert also the certified emergency management director for New Ulm.

Borchert explained New Ulm and much of the RNDC area is prone to flooding because of geography of the Minnesota River Valley. He said the land New Ulm now sits on was once an island in the Minnesota River. Parts of Payne and Garden Street in New Ulm exists in a former river bend. During rain events the basements of some homes are prone to flooding for this reason.

Dr. Tim Grüttemeier and Sven Pennings of Aachen, Germany stand on the Minnesota River flood berm in New Ulm, pointing to the Minnesota River. The two were part of the Aachen delegation touring Region Nine locations.

Borchert said emergency management in the United States is structure from the bottom up. It starts at the local level and works up to the state in federal. Local agencies need to respond first before seeking additional resources from the state and eventually federal agencies. If local government comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements, a city or county will likely see assistance.

“If you’ve done everything right, we receive 75% from the feds and 25% from the state,” Borchert said. However, reimbursement time for a disaster can take a long time. He said Brown County is still seeking some reimbursement from a 2018 flood.

One of the first requirements for local emergency management is preparation and mitigation. Part of that involves training. Borchert said everyone should have been working together and preparing before the emergency.

One of New Ulm’s largest flood mitigation measures was the construction of a berm near the Minnesota River at the cost of $1.9 million. The berm offers protection from a flood up to 814 feet above sea level.

“It’s paid for itself many times over,” Borchert said.

Before the berm, the city would need to create temporary berms every few years to protect against flooding. The cost of bringing in equipment to build and later remove the temporary berms would have exceeded the $1.9 million.

At the time of the berms construction the federal government was recommending the city buyout 44 homes in the flood zone and repurpose the land. Borchert said at that time the home buyout option was more expensive, but said in the longterm that might be better options.

“In the near future, we’re only going to be dealing with more rain in our watershed,” Borchert said. His concerns was the 814-foot protection of the berm would not be enough with extreme rain events becoming more frequent.

Grüttemeier said one of the challenges in Aachen, is there was no major river, but smaller creeks that overflowed during heavy rain, which gave little warning time.

“How much lead time do you have when you have a flood on Minnesota River,” he asked.

Borchert said there is generally the Minnesota River was slow and the city had three or four day warning. He credited the National Weather Service for offer sophisticated predictions. Brown County is able to receive river level data in real-time from neighboring communities.

Borchert added that the Cottonwood River was harder to predict because it was faster and prone to jamming. When dead trees falling into the Cottonwood River, it can create log jams around bridge infrastructure. The same problem can occur in the spring with ice flows. These jams are more rare on the Minnesota because of the size of the watershed.

Members of the Aachen delegation were pleased to share information emergency management as well as economic development efforts in the region.

Grüttemeier said the purpose of their visit to New Ulm and Region Nine as a whole was to learn from community leaders in the area on different topics including, mobility, renewable energy and flood recovery.