Swift flood preparations

The Gazette Editorial Board

We were impressed this past week with the swift efficiency of the city of Cedar Rapids' flood protection preparations.

As the Cedar River approached a 17-foot-plus crest, city crews deployed sandbags, concrete barrels, pumps and other measures to protect parts of the city's core neighborhoods from the possibility of flooding. It took 15,000 sandbags to guard against a possible 18-foot crest, but the use of concrete barrels also saved the city from having to use 60,000 more sandbags, at a cost savings of $120,000.

And when the crest passed without drama, and the river level began to retreat, those bags and barriers started disappearing with the same well-managed speed.

No watery drama is, of course, good news. We've had plenty. Also good news is the fact that the city's flood response has become like clockwork.

That's comforting for all of us who live or work within sight of the Cedar, and who recall being caught off guard in 2008.

New post-flood public and private investments in the city's core depend on that rapid response, as does the city's ability to attract more investments in the future. Permanent flood protection on both sides of the river is coming, but it's still years away.

Climate experts, including Iowa State University's Gene Takle, have warned us that heavy precipitation events are becoming more frequent, raising the risk of flooding.

The Cedar River has topped 17 feet five times in the last decade, including the past two years.

That's unsettling. But on the bright side, Cedar Rapids flood-fighting crews aren't lacking for practice. And that experience showed this week.

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