Iowa City Urges Citizens to Avoid Overconfidence in the Face of Flooding

City of Iowa City

The United States Army Corps of Engineers reports that the recent dry weather has helped the inflows into the Coralville Reservoir to drop significantly, down from 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) Saturday, June 1 to 30,000 cfs today, Monday, June 3. According to the National Weather Service, conditions should remain dry today with potential for 1/4 to 3/4 inch rain Tuesday, June 4 intoWednesday, June 5. The reservoir conduit gate will remain completely open with outflow from the dam at 18,400 cfs. Flow will continue to increase gradually to a peak on Thursday, June 6, when the reservoir level is expected to crest at 710 feet above sea level -- two feet below the emergency spillway. 

The Corps will close West Overlook Road NE, the road traveling over the dam and past the spillway, at 10 o'clock tonight. The road will remain closed until further notice. The closure is to maintain safety in the area and to allow the Corps to perform routine inspections of the dam. There will still be access to the Visitors Center, located on the hill at the east end of the Coralville Dam. The Corps also has a web cam on the dam which can be viewed at http://www3.mvr.usace.army.mil/MVRCams/CVLakeCam.cfm.

Volunteers in Iowa City filled an ample supply of sandbags over the weekend. At this time volunteers are not needed to fill additional sandbags. However, property owners may still need assistance placing sandbags at their individual locations. If you want to volunteer, please call the United Way at 319-337-8657to find out if assistance is needed. If there is a change in weather conditions, the need could arise again.

Keep in mind that the flood levels have not peaked. Citizens are reminded to stay away from riverbanks and barricaded areas. 

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.