Lack of neighborhood flood help is telling

Flood flow expressed in cubic feet per second per square mile of drainage area, for the 2002 Indian Creek flood, was 7.4 times greater than the 2008 Cedar River flood (349 versus 47). That's not to argue which was worse, but to ask why that first flood was not considered significant enough to also deserve receiving attention and flood protection structures sooner than the more than 10 years it is certain to take.

A brief examination of two of the several Indian Creek flood studies raises more questions. The Sun Valley neighborhood commissioned a study 11 weeks after the 2002 Indian Creek flood. The city started its similar flood study eight years after that flood. The neighborhood study cost $5,000, the city's $120,000. The neighborhood produced a detailed report containing multiple recommendations and a proposed flood wall/levee routing with estimated top elevations. The neighborhood expected the city study to advance the neighborhood's proposed design into a final design, but nothing visible has been produced, only a recommendation to wait for another study (by the Army Corps of Engineers).

It is inexcusable that all options are made available for flood protection downtown, but they are not even mentioned for neighborhood protection. It's time for some questions and answers.

Government makes a statement by what it does. One that has done nothing is worth the same.

Marvin Rops

Cedar Rapids