University of Iowa prepares for flooding as local rivers rise

With waters surging down the spillway at the Coralville Dam, University of Iowa officials held their first daily briefing on the university's response to flooding on the Iowa River, saying that for now, they won't shut down any east-campus buildings.

Officials stressed that measures, including building closings, depend on river conditions.

George Hollins, the University of Iowa's business manager, said the Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the river will be flowing through Iowa City at a rate of 25,000 cubic feet per second on Friday and 30,000 cubic feet per second by June 17 - the rate may peak as high as 33,000 cubic feet per second. The highest rate experienced during the 1993 flood was slightly more than 28,000 cubic feet per second.

"We receive our information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a daily basis," Hollins said. The data the university tracks include the outflow from the Coralville Reservoir as well as the amount of water coming into the Iowa River from tributaries below the reservoir.

The exact height of the flood waters along the river will depend upon the topography at that point, Hollins said, adding that the average expected increase over current levels is 3 to 5 feet. Also, a larger volume of water moving down the river will correspond with higher floodwaters, meaning the water level will likely peak higher than it did in 1993.

"We have constructed flood protection around campus to [the 100-year flood level] plus 1 foot," he said. "We're in the process now of finding areas that need to be fortified [and] will be looking at being able to accommodate [the anticipated discharge] with flood protection works."

On Wednesday, the University of Iowa was working on adding additional sandbags to many of its dikes, Hollins said.

Don Guckert, associate vice president for Facilities Management, discussed the steps the school is taking to protect its buildings.

"We're being well-served by planning that went on several years ago relating to flooding on our campus," he said.

Daily Iowan reporter Adam Sullivan contributed to this report