The Army Corps' east side flood protection update

I walked down the Cedar River Trail from downtown to the African American Museum this midday to hear an update from the Army Corps of Engineers on the progress of east side flood protection. No hurry, the river looks very tame today.

Good thing, because our federal government has not yet provided enough money to cover even the cost of engineering and designing three miles of flood walls and levees, from north of Quaker downriver to south of Cargill. Accurately guess when that money is coming, and we might just make you a flood forecaster.

The corps' updated plan to shield the east side of Cedar Rapids' commercial/industrial core was revealed to dozens of us in an impressive Google-mapped aerial animation. We soared in from the north over red digital flood walls protecting Quaker and green levees shielding spots such as New Bohemia. Downtown, the red walls are also removable.

The system is being designed to hold back a 2008-level event with floodwaters raging through town at 143,00 cubic-feet per-second. Today, the corps says the Cedar is meandering at 300 cubic-feet each second.

Removable flood walls, we learned, come with a lot of options. Do we want demountable panels? Should they be aluminum? Or maybe steel bulkheads are better. Foldable flood walls might be nice, but how high do we make the stump walls? Perhaps a combo platter is best. What about the texture? Brick or stone, or stained concrete? If we go with columns, what capstones do we pick?

And gates ... double-swing, railroad swing, demountables and roller, to name a few.

Prices may vary.

At times the presentation reminded me a little of when my wife and I look through the Menards ad on Sunday morning. So much stuff we need, want or could use. Think of what we could build with all that brick, stone and lumber.

But think of how much it would cost. Yeah. Pass the funnies.

The city wants removable walls so that our downtown is not walled off from the river like a fortress. And it's the city that will have to pay for them, according to the corps. The original east side corps plan includes $54 million for levees, and flood walls - solid concrete walls, not removable, foldable or demountable. Those cost more, and the city picks up the extra tab.

But at this point, a river view doesn't mean much when we can't see a fully funded project from here.

The corps needs $12.3 million just to complete engineering and design work. So far, it's received a fraction of that sum. Twenty percent of the work is done, and with luck, 35 percent might be cleared by spring. Beyond that ...

"If no funding comes, we'll have some tough decisions to make," said Tom Heinold, from the corps Rock Island, IL., district office. "Future federal funding is a big question mark for us."

What was once a $99 million east side protection plan is rising in cost with the passage of time. So the project gets pricier and the federal budget situation gets worse and design/engineering stays stuck. Construction? Maybe some day.

The east side project's all-important cost-benefit ratio is a narrow $1.20 worth of flood damage "avoidance" for every $1 of federal funding. That's enough for the corps to recommend protection, but is it enough for a cost-cutting Congress to fund it? Will our long-awaited "Time of Authorization," or TOA, be replaced by DOA?

"Projects are on the shelf with a better cost-benefit," Heinold said after the presentation. "I'm not going to speculate on how much is coming."

And what about the west side? Flood protection on both sides of the Cedar remains a top city priority. A 10-year sales tax extension likely will be on the ballot in March to help pay for it. But, by then, will we be standing alone with a half-designed plan for covering just the east half? More tough choices coming.

Or, maybe we'll see a vast new commitment to the sort of fundamental watershed management we need to head off future ... yeah, not holding my breath. 

Maybe our congressional delegation comes through. Maybe our chances are better than I think. Wouldn't be the first time cynicism has gotten the best of me. Perhaps I'm missing the bright side.

And it occurred to me walking back down the trail afterward that it's really very simple. The river just has to stay tame.