University of Iowa flood walls ‘engaged’ and ‘working well’

IOWA CITY - University of Iowa officials say the barriers erected outside nearby Mayflower Residence Hall have 'been engaged” and are 'working well” as water from the Iowa River continues to cover Dubuque Street.

But, with flood forecasts continuing to improve, university officials are anticipating removing the flood walls later this month in plenty of time to prepare for the return of students in August.

'We will be taking walls down as soon as we are confident that we will not have to put any back up,” UI director of planning and construction Rod Lehnertz said in an email to The Gazette.

UI officials began installing the massive HESCO barriers outside Mayflower Residence Hall, the Iowa Memorial Union, the water and power plants, and along the Iowa River's east and west banks last week as the Army Corps of Engineers warned that water could pour over the emergency spillway at Coralville Lake for only the third time in history.

Had those concerns materialized, like in 1993 and 2008, flooding could have been much worse, although Iowa City, Coralville and UI have completed several flood-mitigation projects that would have lessened the impact using pump stations, levees and berms.

Instead, forecasts gradually improved, and Coralville Lake levels reached their expected peak Tuesday around 708 feet - four feet below the top of the 712-foot spillway.

The Iowa River in Iowa City on Tuesday morning was at 24.8 feet, which is just below major flood stage. But the amount of water leaving Coralville Lake is expected to drop July 14 from 18,000 cubic feet per second to 15,000 cfs and to 9,000 cfs on July 18, according to Johnson County Emergency Management officials.

River levels are expected to return to normal around July 20.

Dubuque Street, which sits between Mayflower Residence Hall and the Iowa River, begins taking on water when the river's flow hits 11,000 cfs. But Lehnertz said the HESCO barriers have done their job, and Mayflower has had no water infiltration.

If projections to decrease the river flow hold steady for late next week, Lehnertz said, UI officials would like to begin the removal process shortly after.

'We need time to clean and prepare sites, like Mayflower, ahead of the students' return,” Lehnertz said.

UI spokesman Joseph Brennan said this season's flood protection efforts - including both erecting and taking down the barriers - is expected to cost up to $4 million. That, however, is a rough estimate, he said, as last year's anticipated $5 million in expenses came in lower at $3.3 million.

Actual expenses will become clearer in the coming months.

'We will only have a more accurate reading on this as we compile the materials and labor charges for the work,” he said.

University operations and classes, along with those at the UI Hospitals and Clinics, were not impeded by this year's flooding. But there have been campus closures that remain in effect, including at Mayflower Residence Hall, Art Building West, Beckwith Boat House, along the east and west sidewalks by the Iowa River, and on the footbridges near the Iowa Memorial Union and Hancher Auditorium.