Johnson County flood prep costs look to be in line with last year

IOWA CITY - The costs of flood prevention measures - such as erecting flood walls, filling sandbags and HESCO barriers, removing debris and paying overtime - are mounting, likely in the millions, in hopes of avoiding tens or hundreds of millions more in damages.

Officials in Iowa City and Johnson County say it's too early to estimate where they stand in flood mitigation costs or where they will end up when the river settles, but it should be similar to last year.

'The preparations are much similar to last year, so the cost will likely be very similar, but factor in inflation,” said Dave Wilson, coordinator of Johnson County Emergency Management.

Meanwhile, costs in Coralville are down considerably with the completion of several flood mitigation projects.

$4 million in 2013

Last year, Iowa City, Coralville, Johnson County, Hills and the University of Iowa combined to spend about $4 million to prevent flood damage, according to a tally of eligible costs provided by Johnson County Emergency Management.

That includes $357,849 in Iowa City, $155,119 in Coralville, $87,747 in Hills, $249,024 among Johnson County departments and more than $3 million at the University of Iowa, according to the emergency management agency.

Officials say the precautions they're taking this year are in line with what happened last year. 'So far, it is shaping up as a similar event,” said Rick Fosse, public works director in Iowa City. '2013 is a good correlation.”

One of the main costs in Iowa City has been a nearly milelong wall of HESCO barriers protecting two mobile home parks and an industrial park on the south end of the city.

That wall was a key piece of $78,000 in emergency flood protections last year.

Iowa City also spent $40,695 on playground equipment and ball fields last year, which had to be removed and fields repaired then and again this year because of flooding.

New protections

Coralville has an early estimate of $25,000 for 2014 preventive measures, which is only a fraction of its costs last year.

The only mitigation needed in Coralville thus far has been a 1,300-foot wall of HESCO barriers on the south side of Clear Creek from First Avenue westward to protect businesses and the south side of Highway 6, according to Coralville City Engineer Dan Holderness.

Several permanent measures are in place that were not in last year, such as a permanent earthen berm along parts of Clear Creek and Biscuit Creek, stormwater pump stations on Clear Creek and a removable flood wall by Iowa River Power Co., among other projects.

This has protected previously vulnerable areas such as the Third Avenue sanitary sewer lift station and the CRANDIC rail line, Holderness said.

By next year, Iowa City should have additional permanent protections in place.

Fosse said before next summer Iowa City will have completed the west-side levee project, which will include a berm and a water pump station protecting the mobile home and industrial parks, and a lift station and floodgate to protect the area where Rocky Shore Drive and Highway 6 meet.

RELATED: To see details about the University of Iowa's anticipated flood expenses, click here.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@sourcemedia.net