A Cedar Falls neighborhood that was hit hard by flood waters in 2008 is again underwater. Residents in the North Cedar area of Cedar Falls say they’ve been dealing with flooded streets since Sunday, long before the National Weather Service issued a Flood Warning for the Cedar River.
The Cedar swelled to nearly a foot above flood stage on Tuesday night, but is now falling and is expected to be back below flood stage later today. But that’s of little comfort to the people of North Cedar, where they say the worst of the flooding happened on Tuesday as water flowed into the neighborhood from a nearby farm field.
City officials say the ground is still frozen, and it can’t soak up any of the extra moisture, which is leading to flooding in many areas. Complicating the issue in North Cedar is the fact that neighborhood does not have storm drains.
An ice jam along the Cedar River is bringing high water into a Cedar Rapids neighborhood that’s still recovering from the 2008 flood. The city has lowered flood gates on the 5-in-1 Dam and is pumping water out of the affected area.
Volunteers like Don Steichen are helping workers with the Department of Public Works distribute sand bags to stem the flow. Steinchen says he remembers how the flood five years ago devastated the area.
“There used to be a bunch of houses here, they tore them all down,” Steichen says. “It’s all green space now. It’s sort of sad to see the water up. We thought that was behind us.”
Cedar Rapids officials say ice jams are common this time of year, as the recent rain and runoff from melting snow runs over the frozen ground and into the waterways.
Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls contributed to this story