Officials in Iowa City are warning that the flooding will get worse this weekend. The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing water from the Coralville Reservoir upstream, forcing the Iowa River out of its banks. Iowa City Public Works director Bob Fosse says an additional release from the reservoir is going to raise the river significantly starting around noon Saturday.
Fosse says they expect the water surface to raise a minimum of three feet this weekend, and that’s a minimum that doesn’t take into account any local rains that could make the situation worse. Fosse said the city is calling for volunteers to help sandbag in the Normandy Drive neighborhood.
Fosse says a number of the homes in that area sustained damage during the floods of 1993 and he says many residents there made improvements to try and prevent flood. He says one of the problems is that the street will flood before the homes. Fosse says the high water is going to take some time to go down. He says when you are downstream from a reservoir, it takes a long time before the water levels drain down.
Fosse says it took about two and half months for things to do down in 1993. Fosse says the Red Cross is standing by in case anyone needs to take shelter.