One year after historic flooding, some Waterville residents are still struggling to recover
"We're surviving," Kelly Knaeble, a flood victim, said. "I can't sit still and just lay here and expect things to get done. I have to make them happen."
Knaeble's home was one of more than 100 properties that sustained heavy damage after more than a foot of rain drenched the area at the end of June 2024. The downpours led to a surging Cannon River, which quickly overwhelmed nearby Tetonka and Sekata lakes.
Forest Prairie Rd in town is flooded over in parts of it in Waterville, Minnesota, United States on June 25, 2024.
Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images
According to Knaeble, her flood insurance required her to first elevate the house before doing any meaningful repairs.
"Lift, demo or remove the house," she said. "So we decided to stay, lifted the house. They give you $30,000 to do it, but it's been the same payout amount since the 70s. Right now, we're at $85,000 just to lift."
As construction continues, Knaeble and her boyfriend are living in an ice fishing house and showering at a nearby shelter.
"Definitely overwhelmed still with how much we have to do, but we have the demo done and now we're in the building back phase, and that gives you the hope," she said.
Bill Conlin, the city's mayor, told WCCO that only three homeowners took the buyout option from FEMA, but he added many residents and business owners have been frustrated by the bureaucracy that comes with government assistance programs like FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
"In some cases, people didn't realize they were choosing one or the other," he said. "Some of the funding is unobtainable for people, some are only getting partial. They still need to come up with percentages of the repairs for their home."
Conlin also shared his own stress related to reimbursements, as the city has had to exhaust its personnel and capital improvement budget while officials wait for the federal dollars to pour in.
"Everything for the FEMA applications and processes take so long to get that for your city and things like that to recoup the losses," he said. "The State of Minnesota is the same deal. Funding for just some of the losses sure would help, but the city carries the burden."
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