Iowa City Flooding Update: Reservoir at Projected Peak Inflow, Road Closings Expected in the Coming Week

From the City of Iowa City

Congressman Dave Loebsack joined area officials as they reviewed the conditions of flooding this morning. The National Weather Service reported no widespread rainfall Friday night, and a forecast of minimal precipitation until Tuesday.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers reported that the conduit at the Coralville Reservoir will be fully opened today, resulting in outflows of 18,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), approximately 1,000 cfs higher than yesterday. That flow rate will gradually increase to 21,000 cfs on Sunday, June 9. Actual flows through Iowa City will be higher because of additional flow added by Rapid Creek and Clear Creek.

The river forecast for Iowa City can be monitored at http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dvn&gage=iowi4. The inflow to the reservoir has peaked today at 40,000 cfs and is not expected to increase unless there is significant additional rainfall in the watershed.

The National Guard and Civil Air Patrol will be in the area taking aerial photos to assess the current situation. 

Gov. and Lt. Gov. to visit Monday
Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will join Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) Administrator Mark Schouten to survey flood damage in the area on Monday, June 3.

Branstad, Reynolds and Schouten will conduct an aerial survey of Eastern Iowa flood damage at 2:30 p.m., followed by a tour of flood damage in Johnson County at 3 p.m. At 4:05 p.m. they will be available to the media with Johnson County officials at the pedestrian bridge near the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories on the University of Iowa campus. 

Current road conditions
Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians are asked to use caution when traveling on Gilbert Street south of Highway 6 in Iowa City, and on Stevens Drive. These streets are open and are currently being protected by pumps, but may take on water in the coming days, especially if there are locally heavy rains. City crews are monitoring these streets.

Rocky Shore Drive between Highway 6 and Park Road is anticipated to be closed due to flood waters early in the week of June 3. For Manville Heights residents, Woolf Avenue, Riverside Drive, and Park Road are anticipated to remain open at this time. Travelers between Coralville and Iowa City who normally use Rocky Shore Drive are encouraged to use Highway 6.

Iowa Avenue between Madison Street and Highway 6 has the potential to close the weekend of June 7, and will continue to be monitored. Standing water may be at the railroad underpass prior to the time of closure if there are locally heavy rains. Please continue to check road closure information.

All motorists through the Iowa City metropolitan area are requested to be patient due to changing traffic patterns as a result of road closures, and are encouraged to allow for extra time when traveling.

Iowa City officials will continue to closely monitor Iowa River and area creek levels. The City has created a web page to keep citizens updated with the latest flood-related information and provide additional resources. To stay up-to-date on the latest news, visit http://www.icgov.org/flood and follow the City of Iowa City on Twitter https://twitter.com/cityofiowacity or Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/The-City-of-Iowa-City-Government/267660140000321.