English River recedes; Kalona 'blessed this time'

Ralph Cooper took his grandson out in the motorboat earlier this week, cruising across his brother-in-law's unplanted field covered with at least five feet of water from the nearby English River.

The river crested at 19.5 feet early Tuesday, but the high water stuck around for several days, said Carolyn Cooper, 66.

"Usually it goes down as fast as it comes up, but not this time," Cooper said Saturday morning.

The English River was 10.19 feet Saturday, down 2.7 feet from Friday. The river, which floods at 14 feet at Kalona, reached its record flood stage of 22.5 feet in July 1993.

The Coopers' land, known as "Half-Ass Acres" for the mules Ralph raises, couldn't be reached by road Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Carolyn Cooper said. She walked down a cow path two days to get to her job as a special education aide at Mid-Prairie Middle School in Kalona.

"Tuesday I couldn't make it to school," she said. "Then it started receding and I was able to walk out."

Mary Beachy, 84, lives across Highway 1, just south of the English River. For 18 1/2 years, she's seen the river rise and fall. A nearby creek also must be watched for flash flooding.

"In 2008 we had water in the shop under the garage," she said. "The levy we built wasn't high enough."

But the river didn't rise past the Beachys' earthen berms this week, she said. "We were blessed this time."

Beachy knows people wonder why they stay so close to the river. But with mature trees, flower gardens full of pansies and the wildlife that live by the water, “we enjoy it a lot,” she said.

Riverside, where the English River meets the Iowa River, was doing fine Saturday, Mayor Bill Poch said.

"Seems like we're out of the woods," he said. "Maybe we'll have a different picture Monday or Tuesday with the Iowa River."

The Iowa River is expected to crest at 17.6 feet in Lone Tree, just north of Riverside, on Monday morning. This is just below major flood stage of 18 feet. Heavy flow in the Iowa River can cause a backup in the English River at Riverside, Poch said. That likely would affect mostly parks and ball fields near the river, he said.

Roads are open near the Amanas and it might be a good time for a drive, said Mary Lou Blomme, who works at the Amana Colonies Visitors Center.

“We have a lot of pelicans in the fields off (Highway) 151 because of fish from the Iowa River,” Blomme said Saturday.

The Iowa River was at 19.8 feet Saturday at Marengo, which is down from 20.36 feet on Friday. Major flood stage for this area is 18.5 feet.