Below flood stage, finally

Apr. 28--With the spring flood out of the way, and barring an extreme rain event like what happened in 2019, flooding on the Mississippi River won't disrupt progress on the next section of the Burlington flood wall.

The National Weather Service predicted the Mississippi River would drop out of minor flood stage late Monday night or early this morning.

Meanwhile the parking area by the north boat ramp is full of mud and the walkway to the north of the ramp has given way do to the flooding. These issues will be dealt with in the the near future according to Assistant City Manager Nick MacGregor.

Flood wall work

"If it's not flooding, (work on the flood wall) can begin after it is bid out," said MacGregor.

MacGregor said the new section of the flood wall likely will go out to bid in June. The new section of the flood wall will be north of and south of the auditorium, directly north and south of the existing flood wall to protect city infrastructure, including the Port of Burlington and Memorial Auditorium.

Right now the city must use Hesco barriers to protect those areas when the water rises and the protections are activated at a much lower level. This requires time and money to be spent putting up flood barriers even if the flood would cause no substantial risk to the buildings.

In addition, the failure of flood barriers can cause the same flooding as if none had been used. The city of Burlington has seen this happen most recently in 2019 when flood barriers gave way under the pressure of Burlington's third highest flood on record causing millions of dollars in damages.

When the flood wall is complete, Macgregor said the city will not have to spend time setting up flood protections unless there is a risk of flooding going over 21 feet, which would be a top 10 flood in Burlington.

If flooding is predicted to reach above 21 feet, then the city will be able to extend the flood wall using aluminum panels to a level of protection that is higher than Burlington highest flood on record, which was 25.73 feet on June 17, 2008.

McGregor said the city will keep a stock of Hesco barriers on hand in case they are needed, but he said much of the city's flood protection will come from the flood wall once complete. He said it is possible that some aluminum panels may need to be replaced over time, but said this will save the city money in the long run.

The city just recently closed out the construction of the previous stage of the flood wall. Last week, the city council approved the release of retention monies after cracks in the flood wall had to be resealed.

For now the council is dealing with a new issue, people walking on the flood wall.

According to Burlington Mayor Jon Billups, there has been an increased issue of people standing, sitting and walking along the flood wall. The city is looking into placing signs near the flood wall to warn people. Billups likened it to the sign which is on the sewer interceptor by Dankwardt Park, which is often used to alert people walking in the area.

The sewer interceptor has a sign right on the concrete, partially blocking the way of anyone who would walk on the concrete-encased sewer line. However, the flood wall sign will not be on the wall because extensions must go on top of the flood wall. Instead Billups said if the city does go through with the plan to place a sign, the sign likely will be placed somewhere near the wall.

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