White water course centerpiece of Riverfest

MANCHESTER - The Maquoketa River white water course - the state's largest - is the centerpiece Saturday for the second annual Riverfest, a daylong celebration featuring water sports, demonstrations, food vendors and a street dance.

Heavy rains in the watershed Tuesday evening raised the river to unsafe levels, but Chuck Ungs, an event coordinator, said that water levels are expected to fall rapidly and that safe conditions are expected to prevail Saturday.

The white water course is to downtown Manchester what an anchor store is to a shopping mall, City Manager Tim Vick said.

'It's the main attraction. It brings people downtown, and they spend money in the nearby businesses,” he said.

People along the re-engineered riverbanks typically outnumber the kayakers, tubers, anglers, waders, swimmers and paddleboarders in the water by a 4-to-1 margin, he said.

The $1.8 million, 800-foot-long white water course, with its six 18-inch drops and rocky pools, has attracted crowds since its opening more than a year ago.

'First-year curiosity brought in a lot of visitors last year, but it's remained just as popular this year,” said Mayor Milt Kramer.

Saturday's festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the water and at Howard & Helen Shelly Memorial Park, 218 W. Main St.

Activities start with a 5-kilometer walk-run at 8 a.m. and a rubber duck race at 9:30 a.m., both sponsored by the Regional Medical Center as part of a fundraiser for new digital radiology equipment. After river demonstrations throughout the day, a free concert featuring David Zollo & the Body Electric begins at 4 p.m.

Kramer, who completes his 42nd year in office in September, ranks the white water course as one of the city's top development efforts during his tenure.

Several Iowa cities - ”some a lot bigger than us” - have sent representatives to Manchester to examine the facility and talk with local officials, Kramer said.

'Body surfing has become an increasingly popular activity on the river,” said Ungs, a naturalist with the Linn County Conservation Department. Body surfers wade or swim from one drop to the next, then dive into the rapids for a brisk thrill.

Vick, who prefers to watch the activities from shore, said the beauty of a sparkling river in an urban setting is relaxing.

'For generations, we have ignored our rivers or pushed them out of sight. The white water course brings ours front and center,” he said.

The removal of an obsolete 9-foot dam as part of the project has created a healthier environment for fish and wildlife, according to Dan Kirby, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Studies of tagged fish conducted by the DNR documented that at least nine species have moved upstream into areas once blocked by the dam, he said.

Angler surveys indicate increased success and satisfaction with the fish habitat installed in the area immediately above the former dam.

Manchester's success in reconnecting residents and visitors to the Maquoketa River earned it Iowa Rivers Revival's designation as 2015 'River Town of the Year.”