The Quad-City Times - News, Sports and more from the Quad Cities region or Iowa and Illinois

You are not logged in.
Login

Log in to qctimes.com
Email:
Password:
Remember my information.
Register
Quadsville
Site Help

Flood cleanup well under way in Quad-Cities

Font Size:

By Kay Luna | Tuesday, May 6, 2008 8:31 AM CDT | () comments

Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES City of Davenport workers dismantle the pumps and an earthen floodwall Monday on River Drive at the foot of Pershing Avenue. . Buy this Photo

Life is slowly getting back to normal along Quad-City area riverfronts. Cleanup crews were hard at work Monday even though flooding is still causing problems in some areas.

But here is one sign the Mississippi River flood of spring 2008 is almost over: The Rhythm City riverboat casino in downtown Davenport will reopen at 7 a.m. today. The flooding blocked its doors and forced the business to close last week.

Workers were busy Monday afternoon, spraying off the sandbagged roadways in front of the casino, getting ready for the return of casino visitors.

“We greatly appreciate the hard work of our team members, as well as the city employees who have made an extraordinary effort to protect not only our facility but all of the buildings and businesses located downtown,” said Mo Hyder, the Rhythm City’s vice president and general manager. “This has been a year of extreme weather conditions; everyone worked together to ensure that downtown Davenport continues to welcome visitors with open arms.”

Meanwhile, city crews continued dismantling temporary levees and doing cleanup work throughout the downtown area, sweeping off and spraying down River Drive and other streets — many of which have been reopened to traffic.

Dan Wingate Sr., a supervisor in the city’s sewer department, stood in the middle of River Drive, where a floodgate under the street still was holding back the river.

“It’s not quite ready yet (to be reopened),” he said. “But the river’s really dropping fast.”

City crews have been monitoring flooded areas and checking pumps every day, around the clock, for the past three weeks, so it is nice to see the end in sight, Wingate added. Now, much of their work involves cleaning and sanitizing the streets.

Water levels receded so much over the weekend, in fact, that people could be seen walking Monday evening into Modern Woodmen Park by using the sidewalk rather than a temporary pedestrian bridge that was built to the water-surrounded baseball stadium at the height of the flooding last week.

In Bettendorf, three park areas — Eagles Landing, Pigeon Creek and Leach Park — will reopen today after closing temporarily. The riverfront trail between Davenport and the Interstate 74 bridge also is open again, city officials said.

Crews in Moline are doing flood cleanup work this week as well.

Despite rain and storms forecast for today, Wednesday and Thursday, officials at the National Weather Service in Davenport expect the Mississippi River to fall below flood stage in the Quad-Cities by late this weekend or early next week.

Weather experts previously said the river could fall below flood stage yet this week, but the coming rainy days spurred a change in the forecast, said Jeff Zogg, a hydrologist with the weather service. Zogg said the Mississippi was at 17.2 feet Monday at Rock Island, which put it two feet lower than its crest of 19.2 feet on April 30. Flood stage is 15 feet there, he said.

And residents in riverfront towns south of the Quad-Cities might have to keep fighting back floodwaters even longer.

“The heaviest rain is supposed to fall south of the Quad-Cities,” he said. “But for the Quad-Cities, as long as this heavy rain stays south, it’ll just be a little bump in the road on the way to going back to normal on the rivers.”

The Wapsipinicon River also is quickly falling and is expected to be back in its banks Thursday at DeWitt, Iowa.

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com.