Cedar Rapids officials, residents react to flood response one week after ice jam

Ice chunks big enough to cover park benches along the banks of the Cedar River still sit as a reminder that it's just the beginning of the spring flooding season.

It's been a week since ice chunks started clogging the Cedar River. City leaders started noticing the jam on the city's northwest side Monday night. Water started coming up through storm sewer drains, filling streets, and wet soil created a mess in seven or eight basements in the area.

Now, the city is assessing its actions, while some are still cleaning up a mess.

"I'd say the water level was at least up to here,” flooding victim Brandy Graham said as she pointed to an area about a foot high. Graham is now starting to see mold where water filled her basement.

"Just the exhaustion of cleaning it up, I can't even put a dollar amount on it,” Graham said.

The pile of her belongings is growing in the Dumpster outside her home. After living through the 2008 flood, she said she's on edge.

"I slept in my living room for a week, because I was scared that the water was -- my pump was going to stop working or somebody wasn't going to notify us in time, if we were in danger,” Graham said.

Now the city is hearing from the public about their response to the situation. Some thoughts are positive and some are negative. The city said it worked fast, but the flooding happened quickly.

"In the case of ice jams, you have no time or minimal time to respond,” Public Works Maintenance Manager Craig Hanson said.

Hanson is the first to say that responding to a flooding situation isn't an exact science. His team is already making changes because of lessons learned.

"Our improvements include more valves, more training," Hanson said. "We'll make sure our procedures are updated for any of the things we found during the event.”

The valves he mentioned are a big step in the city's protection plan. Adding more to the city's storm sewer system is part of the overall strategy.

“[The flow check valve] lets water out when it's raining, and when there's water pressure coming from the river, it shuts itself [off],” Hanson said.

As Graham looked around at her damaged basement, however, she said the city's actions were not enough.

"It's frustrating, because they are not jumping to how fast they need to respond to us,” Graham said.

Mayor Ron Corbett said thankfully there was no widespread damage during the latest flooding situation. He said the best solution for everyone is to work toward long-term flood protection on both sides of the river.