Lawmaker: “We’re going backwards” on flood prevention

Progress to protect Eastern Iowa from floods is moving painfully slow and many communities are at risk this spring, Democratic lawmakers said in Cedar Rapids on Saturday.

“We're going backwards, we're not going forward in this year's budget,” Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said at a League of Women Voters legislative forum. “It's just hard to believe - here we are less than 3 years after 2008 and with all the flooding last year in places like Lake Delhi, Ottumwa, Ames, Cherokee, Fairfax. It's really amazing that we're going backwards instead of forwards.”

The Linn County Democrat is sponsoring legislation to boost watershed management, but that bill hasn't seen a vote in the Senate yet. Similar legislation in the House hasn't advanced out of committee.

In addition to working on watershed development, Hogg said it's important that the state also works on flood mitigation - infrastructure projects like flood walls that curb the effects of flooding.

“I think you have to look at both,” Hogg told an audience of about 175 on Saturday. “There is no way, through just water shed management, that could prevent a flood the magnitude of 2008 from doing serious damage in Cedar Rapids. It's just not feasible with water shed management alone.”

Municipalities in Eastern Iowa are working on flood protection projects, but securing funding to build that infrastructure has proven to be a years-long process. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, for instance, is pushing the state to divert sales tax revenue to a $375 million flood protection system on the Cedar River. And Iowa City is working to get federal approval for a $32 million street project along the Iowa River.

Rep. Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, said a bipartisan group has been meeting to determine a state commitment for flood projects in Linn County. He's optimistic lawmakers will come up with something.

“As long as the state will do something - and I think there is some general understanding that the state has a role - I'm not so concerned about how it happens,” Olson said.

Meanwhile, communities along the Mississippi are prepping for flood season. Heavy snow in the north this winter has made flooding on the Mississippi River likely this spring. Hydrologists say there's a 30 to 40 percent chance the Mississippi will reach its all-time high, recorded in 1965. The risk of the river reaching that level is usually just 2 or 3 percent.

Even though the flood risk on the Cedar River is lower this year, Hogg warned Cedar Rapids isn't in the clear.

“Who is to say that 2008 is the peak flood Cedar Rapids is going to face, especially with climate changes?” Hogg said. “This is a need, not a want.”