Wapsipinicon River rises to more than 20 feet in Anamosa

ANAMOSA - A flood warning continued for Jones County this week as the Wapsipinicon River slowly rose to more than 20 feet Wednesday in Anamosa.

At 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported the river level had risen to 20.36 feet, the ninth highest level on record for Anamosa, but still only at moderate flood stage level. Major flood stage is 21.5 feet, a level surpassed only eight times, including last year when the river crested at 22.76 feet on Sept. 27 and on June 13, 2008 when the river crested at a record 26.18 feet.

On Wednesday, residents of Anamosa and communities further downriver said they hadn't seen much of an impact - and they were counting their blessings.

'It's not climbing at record speeds, and we're grateful for that,” said Jean McPherson, city clerk for Olin in Jones County.

Some residents of Stone City - an unincorporated Jones County town west of Anamosa - were hoping for the best, including Jodie Elson.

Elson, 53, lives with her boyfriend, Lonny Beck, along Stone City Road near the river and Crow Creek. The couple cleared everything out of their basement earlier this week and they were cut off from the house due to a flooded roadway.

'(The river) is very close,” she said.

However, she added no water had reached the house, which the couple hopes to return to later this week.

Despite the rising water in Anamosa, no residences or properties were hit there, residents and city officials said.

'We're fortunate that the residential areas are not in areas that flood usually,” said Suzanne Marek, a 71-year-old resident who visited Wapsipinicon State Park with her husband Marvin Marek to see the waterlogged paths.

It was the same case in Olin, a community southeast of Anamosa with a population of nearly 700, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

'It's out of its banks, but it's not affecting any residents,” McPherson said.

The river at Olin measured at 16.9 feet around midafternoon Wednesday, McPherson said.

McPherson said the town wasn't expecting much more beyond that, based on the predictions for Anamosa from the National Weather Service, which as of Wednesday night.

'If that's all the higher (Anamosa is) going to get, we should be good to go,” McPherson said.

The flooding is being caused by storms in the area late last week and into Saturday morning, said Andy Ervin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities.

Marvin Marek, 74, who was born and raised in Anamosa, said flooding on the Wapsipinicon River is a regular occurrence.

'It happens nearly every year,” Marek said. 'It might be a couple of years before it happens, but it's not abnormal.”

The Wapsipinicon River in DeWitt, a town of 5,000 in Clinton County, is expected to reach major flood stage levels by Sunday. The National Weather Service predicts the crest will reach 12.6 feet. As of Wednesday evening, the river had risen to nearly 11 feet.

Historic Anamosa crests

This week's flooding in Anamosa has seen the Wapsipinicon River rise to more than 19 feet, which is moderate flood stage, according to the National Weather Service. Here is a look at how that level fits with other historic Top 10 crests:

1. 26.18 - June 13, 2008

2. 23.71 - July 26, 2010

3. 22.90 - July 21, 1968

4. 22.76 - Sept. 27, 2016

5. 22.73 - May 26, 2004

6. 22.28 - April 29, 2008

7. 21.56 - May 31, 2013

8. 21.36 - June 27, 2013

9. 20.36 - July 27, 2017*

10. 18.80 - July 11, 2010

* As of 8:45 p.m. Wednesday

Source:

National Weather Service