Despite heavy rains, Coralville Lake still has capacity to spare

With the water rising, traffic on Coralville Lake was down during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

That's bad news for businesses that rely on lake goers. And with the lake forecast to be much higher than normal in the coming weeks, they are worried about a possible slowdown for the remaining summer months that are critical to their bottom lines.

“We've got a four-month season, five months at best, so … every single day in the summer matters to us,” said Kris Kay, who owns Bobbers Grill and manages the adjoining Scales Pointe Campground on the lake a few miles north of North Liberty.

The campground closed one of its 91 sites after Sunday night's rain and could lose a few more by the weekend, Kay said. Its tent camping area is already underwater, which probably cost them a couple of thousands dollars over the weekend, she said.

Their problems may extend beyond a depressed holiday weekend. If water on the lake reaches 708 feet above sea level, a low-lying portion of the road running to the restaurant and campground floods, she said, making it difficult for customers and deliveries to get through.

The lake was at 704.8 feet Monday afternoon, which is nearly 22 feet higher than normal for this time of year. It is projected to crest at 707.77 feet on July 13, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the man-made reservoir built to help reduce flooding downstream.

Water goes over the emergency spillway at 712 feet.

Despite the high water level, Coralville Lake still has 40 percent of its capacity. There is no serious flooding downstream at this time.

KCRG-TV9 meteorologist Kaj O'Mara said the next few weeks will bear close watching.

It rained 1 to 2 inches from Sunday night into Monday morning in the Iowa River basin, he said. A front has stalled across the Midwest, so rain chances will continue through Thursday morning until the front clears, he said.

O'Mara said the biggest issue right now is that the lake probably won't return to its current level until sometime around July 20

or 25, which could mean continued frustration for boaters and swimmers.

And businesses. Bill Kallaus said business at his Funcrest Bait & Tackle shop was off by more than 80 percent compared with a typical Fourth of July weekend.

His store, which also sells snacks, beverages, ice and camping supplies, is on West Overlook Road on the way to the dam and a popular public beach and boat ramp. The beach and ramp are closed, and the lake's heavy water outflow is discouraging fishers from the casting their lines below the dam.

“The boat ramp and the fact that the swimming beach was closed, it killed my business” Kallaus said.

All of Coralville Lake's beaches and all but one of the Corps' boat ramps – the one at Mehaffey Bridge – are closed because of high water and likely will be for at least two more weeks, said Randy Haas, chief ranger at the lake.

Boat traffic was down over the weekend, even with the perfect weather Saturday, Haas said.

“Saturday, I'm sure the lake would have been very congested if Mehaffey hadn't been the only ramp open,” he said.

The ramp at Scales Pointe Campground was open to the public and saw 360 boats, double the typical holiday weekend, Kay said.

Haas said the high water opens up some areas of the lake boats usually can't get to, but there is more debris and submerged items in the water boaters must be careful of.

“It can be both a blessing and a curse,” he said.

Campgrounds were nearly all full around the lake, Haas said, although some opened up on Sunday.  About 35 of the Corps' sites closed this past weekend because of high water and they're expecting to lose more, he said.

Most rivers in Eastern Iowa are

below their flood stages, according to the National Weather Service.