Iowa City considers levee near mobile home parks

Iowa City staff want to build a levee to protect Baculis and Thatcher mobile home parks, which were swamped in the 1993 and 2008 floods.

The 2,700-foot-long levee would run along the west side of the Iowa River between McCollister Boulevard and the CRANDIC railroad tracks in southern Iowa City. It would reach three feet above the 100-year floodplain, which would have held back floodwaters in 2008, said David Purdy, the city's flood recovery specialist.

The levee has already been designed, and now city staff is seeking approval to apply for a state I-JOBS grant to help fund its construction. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter at its July 12 meeting.

Purdy said there are about 160 mobile homes and 400 residents combined in Baculis and Thatcher, which sit off South Riverside Drive. The levee also would protect 20 businesses on Commercial Court, according to the city.

It would cost about $3.8 million to build. The city would have to come up with at least $1.7 million of that. The city's share could be paid for with federal Community Development Block Grant funds, staff said.

If the city applies for the I-JOBS money, a decision is expected in September. If it is approved, construction could start late this year and finish in late fall of 2011, Purdy said.

The city inquired about relocating Baculis and Thatcher after the 1993 flood, he said, but was unable to come to an agreement with owners on finances and an alternative site. The owners also were unwilling to sell after the 2008 flood.