Monday Flooding Briefing: Flooding News Continues to Improve with Dry Conditions

From Johnson County

Continuing dry conditions are easing flood concerns in Johnson County – although residents still need to exercise caution and be aware of changing conditions.  

“The news keeps getting better,” Jim Stiman with the Army Corps of Engineers reported at the daily briefing.  

Terrence Neuzil, Public Information Officer with the Emergency Management Commission reported that the current projection from the Corps is that the peak water level at the Coralville Reservoir will be 710 feet on June 6.  This level is two feet below the maximum capacity where water goes over the emergency spillway.  The level increased 1.5 feet over the last 24 hours and stood at a level of 707.8 feet on Monday morning.  The outflow on Monday morning was measured at 18,400 cubic feet per second (cfs).

The gates will remain fully open for the foreseeable future as the Corps seeks to reduce the level once the peak has occurred.Dee Goldman, Operations Manager with the Corps, reported that the local staff has moved to 24-hour operation as the peak approaches.  

In order to address increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic at the Reservoir, the Corps is closing several campgrounds at 5 PM today. In addition, access to the spillway will be closed as of 10 PM tonight.  Those interested in viewing the spillway can go to the visitor’s center on the east side of the Reservoir or the parking lot above West Overlook on the west side. An area near the Coralville Marina will also be open daily between 6 AM and 10 PM and provides a view of the spillway.  

Use of the Iowa River south of the dam continues to be prohibited.  Recreation is still allowed on the Reservoir but boaters are warned to exercise caution due to debris coming into the Reservoir and construction equipment near Mehaffey Bridge.  

The University of Iowa, Coralville and Iowa City all reported confidence in current levels of preparation.  A notice of voluntary evacuation has been issued to residents along NormandyDrive and Taft Speedway in Iowa City.  It is not anticipated that mandatory evacuation will be necessary based on current conditions.  Johnson County continues to have four mandatory evacuation orders in effect and updated road closures are posted on the County website.  

On Sunday members of the Johnson County Metro Dive Team and the Iowa Task Force One Swift Water Team surveyed the Iowa River between the Reservoir and the southern border of Johnson County.  A sample of the more than 700 pictures is provided with this press release.  The full set of pictures from the mission will be posted on the Johnson County website at www.johnsoncounty.com later this morning.

The United Way continues to operate the emergency volunteer center and disaster call center at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4265 Oak Crest Hill Rd SE, Iowa City.  The center has registered 393 volunteers and has taken approximately 60 calls per day during the hours of operation.  

Those needing assistance or wanting to know about volunteer opportunities should contact the center at 319-337-8657.  As conditions stabilize, plans will be made to change the focus of the center to clean-up operations.  

The Emergency Operations Center updates will continue to be held as long as the water levels continue to rise and press conferences will follow at approximately 9 AM.