Palo fights its way back from flood

While many feared Palo would not survive the flood that swamped all but 13 of its 423 homes two years ago, city officials say the community is on track to become better and stronger than ever.

“The flood has not scared people away from Palo,” said Trisca Smetzer, the town's assistant city clerk and administrator, whose home, like most others in Palo, was heavily damaged.

“A lot of people lost financially,” she said, “but they gritted their teeth” and cleaned up and rebuilt their damaged properties, in many cases elevating them above the level of the record Cedar River flood that crested here, nine miles upstream from Cedar Rapids, around 7 a.m. two years ago today.

Damage estimates included $22 million to homes, $10 million to city property and $1.75 million to businesses.

Smetzer said about 30 homes have been built since the flood, enough to replace 14 homes bought by the city in a residential buyout and eight homes lost through condemnation.

Although the 2010 census will soon provide a definitive answer, City Clerk/

Administrator Stacy Dix said the town's population is not quite back to pre-flood estimates of 900 residents.

Notwithstanding widespread misery and financial loss, the town will be better in other ways, according to Palo Infrastructure Administrator Tom Watson.

In the offing are a $6.645 million municipal water system to replace the shallow wells that were contaminated by floodwaters and a $4.2 million city hall/community center with considerably more space and amenities than the old metal building pressed into service for city offices after the flood destroyed the former city hall.

The city has secured a disaster relief grant through the Iowa Department of Economic Development to pay for the water system, expected to be on line next year. The city building, also fully funded by grants, is expected to open in August 2011.

The city has also elevated its wastewater lift stations and implemented several drainage projects to reduce the impact of Dry Creek, which flooded Palo from the west while the Cedar did likewise from the east.

Dan and Megan Diehm, proprietors of Cedar River Garden Center on Palo's east edge, lost their home and livelihood when the Cedar River covered both to a depth of 5 feet.

They said they thought their home and business would weather the onslaught until the day before the crest, when heavy local rains sent floodwaters surging over their extensive sandbag levees.

Like most of their friends and neighbors, they found themselves homeless with much of their life's work destroyed.

It was an emotional time of prolonged soul searching, said Dan Diehm, who pegs their financial loss as “a million plus.”

The help and support of friends, family, neighbors and strangers eventually provided the encouragement they needed to rebuild, Megan Diehm said.