Johnson County wants review of Coralville Lake management plan

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Thursday to send a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking for a review of Coralville Lake's regulation plan.

The Corps oversees the man-made reservoir, which was built to control flooding downstream along the Iowa River, and has rigid guidelines for how much water is released from the lake and when.

Those rules sometimes come under criticism by local officials and residents who would like the Corps to release more water when flooding is a concern.

Gov. Chet Culver earlier this summer called on the Corps to review the plans at Iowa's four reservoirs, which includes Coralville Lake.

A Coralville Lake study likely would cost more than $1 million to be split by the federal and local governments. The current guidelines have been in place since 1992, John Castle, the lake's operations manager, has said.

The Corps is in favor of a new study, but local officials have shied away from doing one in the past because of the cost.