Cedar River nearing flood stage in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar River is on the rise, and the National Weather Service is predicting it will reach 11.5 feet by late Saturday.

The city's flood stage is 12 feet, but the city's flood protection plan can readily handle river levels some feet above that. Just last year, the river climbed to 17.34 feet on June 25 and required citizen sandbagging efforts in New Bohemia.

At the 10-foot level, the city's Water Division begins to raise five, 60-foot-wide dam gates at the 5-in-1 Bridge to let more of the rising Cedar River make its way through Cedar Rapids.

Sara Baughman, the city's utilities communications coordinator, said Wednesday the Water Division anticipates its crews will begin raising dam gates late Friday afternoon.

Water begins to impact low-lying Otis Road SE when the river reaches the 9.5-foot level. It impacts the low-lying area at Osborn Park down river from the 16th Avenue bridge at the 11.5-foot level.

The river reached 31.12 feet in the city's flood disaster of June 2008.

KCRG-TV9 meteorologist Joe Winters said he sees the highest likelihood of flooding as being along the Iowa River near Marengo.

Some minor flooding along the Cedar is being seen in Waterloo and Cedar Falls. The water level at the Coralville Reservoir is

rising, though the Army Corps of Engineers is not releasing as much water as it could so Iowa City faces no flood risk at this

point, he added.