Good in bad 'endangered' designation for Cedar River, says Mayor Corbett; Sen. Hogg says it's a 'wake-up call'

CEDAR RAPIDS - You can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Mayor Ron Corbett on Wednesday said there is good in the news that the American Rivers organization has named the Cedar River the fifth most endangered river in the nation.

“It's is bad in a way, but it's also good in a way because it brings attention to this important asset that runs not just though Cedar Rapids, but runs through the state of Iowa,” Corbett said at a noon news conference along the river in the downtown. “So although we may not like the designation, we do like the fact that it is getting attention, not just from a local standpoint, but from around the country.”

Corbett said the Cedar River “broke our hearts” two years ago when it flooded Cedar Rapids, but he said the endangered designation comes at an opportune time as the city faces the challenge of convincing Congress to fund a flood-protection system that will keep the city safe in the future.

The city's version of what it needs, what it calls the “preferred” plan, is more costly and protects against a higher flood than the plan that the Army Corps of Engineers will recommend to Congress. As a result, the city has its work cut out for it.

Representatives from the American Rivers program, the Nature Conservancy and Trees Forever all emphasized the need for investment in non-structural improvements in the countryside like wetlands and riverside buffers as a less-costly, necessary way to restore the river and protect against future flooding.

State Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, called the American Rivers' designation a “wake-up call” for all citizens living in the Cedar River watershed and for government at all levels to devote resources to help fix the river.

Hogg said the fact that flood victims in Cedar Rapids are suffering two years after the June 2008 flood makes it clear that the status quo along the river here and in the watershed won't work.

Hogg recalled the community energy that went into sandbagging to battle the flood two years ago, and he said, “We need the spirit of sandbagging now.”

Every citizen can help whether by installing detention basins and rain gardens at home or by supporting wetland restoration and buffer strips along waterways, he said.

After his remarks, Hogg, a member of the Cedar River Watershed Coalition, said the work that needs to go on in the watershed must be done in tandem with the city of Cedar Rapids' effort to secure a more-traditional flood-protection system of levees and flood walls.

In reaction to the American Rivers' report, Congressman Dave Loebsack, D-Mount Vernon, on Wednesday said focusing on non-structural efforts for flood control in the Cedar River watershed can “augment” the structural protections that are being examined for the river in Cedar Rapids.