Community Corner
Drought Fears Water Under – or Over – the Bridge
Iowa is experiencing its wettest spring ever. In West Des Moines, the biggest concern is at Raccoon River Park.
Oh, Iowa, you’re so extreme.
Wasn’t it just last month that we were worried about the 2012 drought continuing its brutal hold through 2013?
That’s water under the bridge now – or over it – as Iowa experiences its wettest spring ever. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said in a news release that Iowa has received 16.5 inches of precipitation through Tuesday during March, April and May, shattering on old record of 15.36 inches set in 1892.
The 2013 year-to-date precipitation total – 18.92 since New Year’s Day – also set a record in 141 years of record keeping.
In contrast, 2012 was the 19th driest year on record with the statewide average last year at 26.31 inches, nearly 9 inches below normal, according to a Radio Iowa report. The driest year was 1910, when total precipitation measured just shy of 20 inches.
“If there’s a bright spot … this is the best possible time to get all this rain – after a drought. On a less bright note, though, we are entering the time of year when we get more torrential, heavy storms that cause flash flooding and are much harder to prepare for."
– State Climatologist Harry Hilaker
As recently as February, experts were bracing Midwest farmers a for another year of hot, dry weather. Last year was also Iowa’s third hottest year in 140 years of record keeping.
Now, the DNR says that shallow groundwater, which determines drought conditions, was normal to above normal across the state except for parts of the Rock River, a tributary of the Big Sioux River in northwest Iowa, which is still slightly below normal.
More than 81 percent of the state is drought-free, and most of the rest of the state has been upgraded to abnormally dry, according to the DNR.
That’s no surprise to soggy West Des Moines residents.
Here, the most immediate concern is at Raccoon River Park. The river is expected to crest just above flood stage at 36.5 feet, and at that level it affects Blue Heron Lake, the Des Moines Register reported.
Because of the expected flooding, the West Des Moines Police Department has cancelled its Cops ‘n’ Bobbers Fishing Derby has been cancelled.
Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines is currently closed because of flooding. The Register said the Raccoon River’s crest at 18.4 feet – 1.4 feet above flood stage – at the park Friday evening before receding Sunday morning.
Sometimes unpredictable Walnut Creek is behaving, West Des Moines Public Works Director told the Des Moines Register.
A bridge is being replaced on the Des Moines side of Grand Avenue at First Street and officials have an emergency plan in place, though they don’t think they’ll need to implement it.
The Register said the base of a temporary flood gate suspended over Grand Avenue at the intersection has been removed, but it can still be lowered to help protect First Street if Walnut Creek jumps its bans.
A contractor on standby could act quickly to put a foundation in place so the flood gate can be lowered, Ben McAlister, West Des Moines’ storm water manager, told the newspaper.
The flood gate and levy along Walnut Creek were installed after the historic Floods of 1993 devastated Valley Junction and other parts of West Des Moines.
Harry Hilaker, the state’s climatologist, told the Register Iowa’s drought recovery is a good news-bad news scenario.
“If there’s a bright spot … this is the best possible time to get all this rain – after a drought,” he said. “On a less bright note, though, we are entering the time of year when we get more torrential, heavy storms that cause flash flooding and are much harder to prepare for."
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