Bill Lavin, city manager for the Minnesota river valley community of Granite Falls, knows about disasters.  During his tenure as city manager he has navigated his community through painful recovery measures for two significant floods and one disasterous tornado, all within the span of five years.

I visited Granite Falls this weekend and had the opportunity to tour the new flood wall and municipal improvements to prevent catastrophe in the event of future floods. 

The above photo shows a newly constructed gateway which allows cars to drive down to the riverfront.  On the inside of each pillar you can see a slot that heavy wooden timbers can be fitted into to create a solid barrier to prevent water from seeping into the city in the event of a future flood.

 Not only are the improvements functional, they have been designed to be esthetically appealing and encourage the use of the river front for recreation, not unlike Saint Anthony Main in Minneapolis.

The creation of a flood wall with additional flood control improvements, coupled with a well thought out plan for the demolition of vulnerable buildings on Main street will create an enviable downtown with a stunning river front view.  The existing businesses were built with their backs to the river, never fully taking advantage of the charm of the river.

The Minnesota river provides not only recreational opportunities, but also about 20 percent of the city's electricity through hydro-power.

Lavin has compiled a report detailing the history of the flood improvement measures, as well as maps and funding history.  For a copy of this report, email bill.lavin@granitefalls.com.