The University of Iowa History Corps has change it's web site URL:

It's now: http://thestudio.uiowa.edu/historycorps/exhibits/show/flood

The PVTFloodResponse blog site is dedicated to the flood victims of Iowa City who still are recovering from this terrible tragedy.

Residents Moving Out Of Parkview Terrace As Flood Threat Is Real 05/31/2013

Parkview Terrace to flood again only 5 years after the last flood.

Courtesy of the Iowa City Press Citizen 05/31/2013

City workers planted “road closed” signs on North Dubuque Street, while across the river and beyond a swamped Lower City Park, water began creeping up backyards on Normandy Drive.

Johnson County braced Thursday for imminent flooding, with officials projecting that the Iowa River will top the Coralville Reservoir spillway next week, as it did during the 1993 and 2008 disasters.

With more rain pounding the area and the reservoir continuing to rise, the Corps of Engineers upped the dam’s outflow to 14,000 cubic feet per second and intends to raise it again to 17,000 cfs Friday. Projections show the water rising to the spillway’s elevation of 712 feet Tuesday, before peaking at 713.5 feet and 22,500 cfs June 8 or 9. The record high level at Coralville Lake was 717.02 feet in 2008.

“That’s a lot less than where we were in ’93 and ’08, but nonetheless it is going over the spillway with that projection,” said county supervisor Terrence Neuzil, who is serving as the public information officer for the county’s Emergency Management Agency.

The current outflow projections are based solely on the forecast through Friday, with another 1 to 2 inches expected Friday in the Iowa River basin. Any significant rainfall beyond that forecast would cause the outflow projections to shift upward and could increase the potential for creek flooding, as well.

The city closed Dubuque Street from Park Road to Foster Road after river water poured out of the storm sewers mid-afternoon near Mayflower Hall, where the University of Iowa was erecting a massive flood barrier. Iowa City Public Works Director Rick Fosse said that stretch of North Dubuque Street will be closed until at least mid-June.

The river also inundated much of Lower City Park, where the city had dissembled and moved the amusement rides before closing the park’s entrance. Additional closures are expected in the coming days, the city warned.

In the Parkview Terrace neighborhood, where the city bought out and razed 87 homes after the 2008 flood, several residents were seen in their driveways moving belongings into vehicles as the river drew nearer.

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Alex Geoly, and his roommates, who rent a house on Normandy Drive, were moving their guitars and other music equipment from their ground level to second floor. Geoly, 21, who has lived in the house for three or four months, was staying put for the time being, but worried about access if and when the street flooded.

He wasn’t sure how the house, which was rebuilt and raised by the property owner after 2008, would hold up against a flood.

“We’ve never been tested against something like this, but we’re going to find out real soon,” Geoly said.

A block away, Cliff Pirnat, 70, a longtime Manor Drive resident who rebuilt after 2008 and declined a buyout, was waiting for more information before moving belongings to his second level.

“I expected this to happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen again this soon,” Pirnat said of another flood.

No mandatory evacuations were issued Thursday, but officials were preparing for the possibility. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved a civil emergency proclamation, which authorizes the board chairperson to issue orders of mandatory evacuation. Likewise, Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek signed a similar proclamation.

Fosse said city workers were going door-to-door Thursday afternoon distributing information to residents in Parkview Terrace and the Idyllwild subdivisions, and it planned to do the same Friday in the Cole and Thatcher mobile home parks on the south side of the city. Cole Mobile Home Court was formerly Baculis Mobile Home Court.

“One is the contact at the United Way for assistance if they need help preparing for the flooding, or preparing to leave their home, whatever it is they want to do,” Fosse said. “We’re also giving them a checklist, so that if it gets to the point where we have evacuations, key things they’ll want to do before they leave.”

The Johnson County Sheriff’s office also began asking residents in low-lying areas, including including those in the Izaak Walton Road area south of Iowa City and off Stewart Road just north of the city, to voluntarily evacuate.

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MidAmerican Energy is making plans to establish a mobile substation to replace its existing substation on First Avenue in Coralville, Neuzil said. The Red Cross and Iowa National Guard are also on standby, and preparations are also being made at the Johnson County Fairgrounds to accommodate displace residents or animals. Johnson County SEATS is also available to transport residents, Neuzil said.

“At this point I think the message is fairly clear from the Army Corps of Engineers that we need to be prepared for this water to go over the Coralville dam, and we hope that we don’t see a whole lot more rain other than the potential of 1 to 2 inches this afternoon through Friday,” Neuzil said.

Dee Goldman, operations manager at the Coralville Lake for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the outflow had not been ramped up earlier because of existing high-water conditions further south.

“We’re here to protect all of the citizens, not just right hear around Iowa City, but from Burlington on up to Iowa City,” Goldman said. “There’s still some flooding going on down there, so we kept our gates at a lower level, allowing the lake to function as it’s supposed to, to allow the water to come into it. As we start seeing that it’s coming up, and the projections start getting closer and closer to our spillway discharge, at that time we start working a lot with the local communities, the county, things of that nature to make sure they’re prepared and can handle the additional water.”

Reach Josh O’Leary at 887-5415 or joleary@press-citizen.com.

The University of Iowa History Departmenta has recently release a website devoted to the oral history of the Flood of 2008.

Click here for the link - Flood of 2008

Parkveiw Church Land intended to be purchased

From the Iowa City Press Citizen
The Iowa City Council unanimously approved an agreement at its Tuesday night meeting to buy 19.5 acres of vacant land south of Taft Speedway.

The parcel is owned by Parkview Evangelical Free Church and is in the 100-year floodplain.
The city is seeking to purchase vacant land in the 100-year floodplain to prevent future development in those areas.
According to an agreement, the city will pay $650,000 for the land. The price is what the church paid for the land in 2004, according to city documents.
The purchase will be funded by the state Community Disaster Grant program.
At a Monday night work session, the council discussed the potential purchase of other vacant land in the 100-year floodplain, including parcels owned by the Elks Club near the Idyllwild subdivision.

Out of the Blue - More Buyouts

Iowa City seeks more buyout funds
By Gregg Hennigan
The Gazettegregg.hennigan@gazettecommunications.com
IOWA CITY — The City Council agreed last night to go after money that would allow the city to purchase flood-damaged homes that were ineligible for the federal buyout program. The money would come from a new state-administered program that has $10 million in federal funds. More money may go into the program in the future, officials said.

The city will submit more than 80 homes in the Parkview Terrace neighborhood for consideration. Those homes are in the 500-year flood plain but not the 100-year boundary and therefore weren't eligible for the federal buyout program that is beginning in Iowa City this week.Officials admit that, given the magnitude of damage elsewhere in the state, it's unlikely they'll get nearly enough money for everyone who wants it. Jeff Davidson, the city's director of planning and community development, estimated the city would be able to buy several homes, with priority likely given to those nearest the 100-year flood plain."We're trying to be realistic about this, but we also want to keep our options open," he said.

Council members said they were committed to pursuing all opportunities to help flood victims. "I'm all for opening it up," council member Mike Wright said. The program is voluntary, so no one would be required to sell their home.

It's unclear how many of the Parkview Terrace homeowners would be interested in the new buyout funds, but the city had to submit a list this week and included them all to be safe. The city also will submit three vacant properties for the program, with the goal of preventing them from being developed in the future. Two are in the Peninsula neighborhood and another is off South Gilbert Street.

More Buyouts in PVT may be possible soon

New News from the City - More houses may be eligible for buyouts.

City Council will be meeting Monday night to discuss this and City Staff should know more on Tuesday.

5/14/09: Staff Memo-Prop. Acquisition

For those not in the original buyout - You are urged to contact City Council if you have an opinion on your house - Buyout or Non-Buyout.