OTTUMWA —
Heavy rain over the weekend caused Ottumwans to wonder how much water the Des Moines River would deliver to the city.
City officials said the river level did go up some but dropped down to 10.5 feet by 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to Tom Rodgers, the city’s public information coordinator.
“That’s down 3 feet from Sunday, and the river is supposed to go down [today], too,” he added.
Rodgers also said the city’s wastewater control department tracks the river level during daily monitoring and regulation duties.
But, Rodgers had no information about any city residents being displaced due to high water.
“The river did push to 14 feet over the weekend, and that may have affected folks on Walnut Street, which is outside the city limits,” he said.
The city’s engineering staff has been “watching extra carefully since late winter” because they knew “conditions would be prime for flooding” this year.
Josh Stevens, the Wapello County Emergency Management Coordinator, said that the county’s situation “depends on precipitation from now on.”
“I took pictures this morning, trying to gauge what happens at what level so I can pass that on to the weather service,” he said. “The photos will show what impacts rivers are at when they rise to each new level.”
Over the weekend, the river rose from 10 to 11 feet, and Stevens contacted the state hydrologist in Johnston. Stevens learned the river got “pretty high,” up to 13.15 feet, but would drop by Monday.
“The waters have receded quite a bit. Eddyville has gone down to 61 feet,” Stevens said. “The river was at 64.19 feet between Saturday and Sunday. It’s 58.3 now.”
Stevens said the county has had some lowland flooding and residents have had to pack up mobile homes and campers. People were putting their belongings up by the road.
“That’s one of the best indicators — to see what folks on the river are doing,” Stevens said. “If something affects you, you keep a close eye on that. The river can jump up so fast.”
County Engineer Brian Moore said the Des Moines River “was back in its banks” by Monday morning. Several areas had rock washed off the road and his crews will spend Monday getting rock onto those spots.
“A few are related to the river, but Cedar Creek has been out, too, along certain spots,” Moore said.
What’s the forecast for the next few days?
Meteorologist Karl Jungbluth said current information has indicated the Ottumwa area “could get a break” from the heavy rains.
“This evening there may be isolated thunderstorms, but it doesn’t look like they’ll put down heavy rains over a wide area — it’ll be more isolated,” he said. “And we’re not expecting heavy rains out of those.”
What about today and Wednesday?
“Rainfall chances will push off to the east and possibly be along the Mississippi River,” Jungbluth said. “So, Ottumwa will see a break.”
But, after that, the weather pattern becomes active again and could affect Ottumwa and the surrounding area on Thursday, Friday and/or the weekend.
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com
Local News
Related Photos
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Heavy rain over the weekend filled up the Des Moines River and many other places, such as residences along Rabbit Run Road south of Ottumwa. Rainfall left water in the yards and brought the river level up too high. In Ottumwa, the river level had dropped from 13.5 feet to 10.5 feet by 10:30 a.m. Monday. National Weather Service meterologists believe the Ottumwa area will have a break from heavy rains over the next two days. Cindy Toopes/The Courier
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Heavy rain over the weekend filled up the Des Moines River and many other places, such as residences along Rock Bluff Road. Rainfall left water in the yards and brought the river level up too high. In Ottumwa, the river level had dropped from 13.5 feet to 10.5 feet by 10:30 a.m. Monday. National Weather Service meterologists believe the Ottumwa area will have a break from heavy rains over the next two days. Cindy Toopes/The Courier
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