Eastern Iowa flood barriers to aid flood endangered in Pacific Northwest

April 05--CEDAR RAPIDS -- Barriers once stocked to hold back Iowa floodwater now are heading to the Pacific Northwest to help battle deluges in Idaho and Washington.

Aaron Ackley, emergency response program manager with HESCO Bastion, which designs and manufactures deployable barrier systems, said severe flooding in Boise initiated a nationwide call for HESCO barriers, which can be filled with sand and used to hold back rising water.

Iowa, which has grown accustomed to fighting back floodwaters, provided an ample stock of barriers, he said.

"The closest place with a lot of materials on hand is in Eastern Iowa, because we spend a lot of time here," Ackley said. "We reached out to the usual suspects and a lot of people have been willing to help. ... We have a fairly broad Rolodex of what you'd call 'good neighbors.' "

On Tuesday, Ackley made stops in Cedar Rapids, Marengo and Parkersburg to pick up enough barriers to stretch 9,000 linear feet when filled with sand. HESCO plans to replace those barriers within 30 days.

A single sand-filled basket measures 3 feet wide, 3 feet long and 4 feet tall.

Alliant Energy's Prairie Creek Generating Station in Cedar Rapids provided half the need.

Alliant Spokesman Justin Foss said barriers had been stocked for potential flood events, but Alliant is happy to share with a community in need.

"We have now seen what Mother Nature can do up close and personal, twice in the last eight or nine years," Foss said. "We're now able to help out others in their moment of need."

Foss is referring to the flood of 2008 in Cedar Rapids during which the Cedar River crested at a record 31.12 feet, as well as the flood of 2016 during which the river crested at 21.92 feet, the second highest crest on record.

Lucinda Parker, public information officer with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the state department provided the other 4,500 linear feet of barriers needed out west.

Those barriers had been staged in Marengo and Parkersburg, Parker said.

It's not rare for the barriers to be moved around the country to areas in need, Parker said.

"That's something that's very common throughout the United States. ... We do help each other out, that's one of our strengths," she said.

In last year's flooding along the Cedar River, the University of Iowa and Johnson County sent HESCO barriers north to aid Cedar Rapids.

Ackley said several other organizations, including the University of Iowa and city of Iowa City, also offered up barriers. Additional aid might be sought if conditions worsen in Idaho, he said.

"There's a strong possibility that within the next 24 to 48 hours, I'll be calling back to the mutual aid society," he said.

In Idaho, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter on Friday declared a local emergency in the city, citing "nearly unprecedented flows on the Boise River and the unpredictable impacts those floodwaters could have on the city over an extended period of time," according to the Idaho Statesman.

In Washington, Spokane Mayor David Condon, last month, also declared a flooding emergency, according to the Spokesman-Review in Spokane.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service last week issued a flood watch -- due to excessive rain and snow melt in the area -- for the Spokane River in Northern Idaho, according to the Spokesman-Review.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; [email protected]

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