Partial flood protection plan draws criticism

An Army Corps of Engineers plan to limit a permanent flood protection plan to one side of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids is making some city and business leaders unhappy.

Federal rules say any major levee or flood wall system in Cedar Rapids must show a dollar in property protection for every dollar spent on construction. So far the preferred protection plan backed by the city comes in at about half the benefit level.

But one Army Corps plan that surfaced Thursday night at the mayor's flood forum is kicking up a bit of controversy.

At the forum, one Army Corps technician working on the Cedar Rapids study suggested it might be possible to design a ring levee around Quaker Oats and Cargill--two large east side industries. Other parts of the east side, especially the core downtown, could get protection from removable flood walls.

The suggestion was that sort of limited system might meet the Corps dollar for dollar rule...because it would protect only more expensive property on the east side of the Cedar River.

But it wouldn't do anything to help protect property on the west side of the river. And Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett says the idea of only partial protection would never fly.

"I'm not interested in building a half of a system that protects one half of the community--that would be ridiculous. That's not our goal," Corbett said.

The mayor told TV9 that the city is continuing to push the Army Corps to come up with alternatives or better ways to calculate the cost-benefit figures.

Dave Franzman, KCRG-TV