MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Maquoketa residents feverishly prepared Saturday for a surge of water expected on the Maquoketa River because of the failure of a dam upriver on Lake Delhi.
By late Saturday, a reprieve was in sight.
The river near Maquoketa is now expected to crest this afternoon at a much lower level than first predicted.
Lyn Medinger, Jackson County emergency management coordinator, said the river will not see the high surge of water that had been expected all day. Instead, the river is expected to crest at 34.8 feet about 5 p.m. today, about the same as the last major flood in 2002.
Medinger said debris floating down the river apparently hit a bridge in the Lake Delhi area, which created a mini-lake. The result meant the high levels of water expected downriver did not happen.
“I think we have averted a crisis,” Medinger said at the Public Works building yard as volunteers continued to fill bags with sand.
More than 200 volunteers worked at least seven hours, filling more than 5,000 bags.
The bags surrounded the Maquoketa Municipal Electric Utility plant, the water reservoir and the wastewater treatment plant, which are located at the base of the levee on the north edge of Maquoketa.
Todd Allen of Alliant Water Resources, manager of the city’s water and wastewater treatment plant, asked residents earlier in the day to conserve or reduce their use of water and wastewater. He said when the river gets high, the plant will take on water. He said the conservation practices will be in effect until further notice.
A few homes are situated along the river, but none had reported any water problems. The water flooded some nearby cornfields and the senior baseball field, but the river did not spill far over its banks Saturday night.
Medinger said he’s been told the dam at Lake Delhi “is totally gone” in Delaware County, about 45 miles from Maquoketa.
The Lake Delhi dam, which pooled water above it on the Maquoketa River, has a cement-constructed spillway in the center and earthen structures on either side.
The record flooding caused water to go over the dam, and the south portion of the dam experienced a major breach, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Boats and propane tanks were flowing through the dam breach.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said DNR Environmental Specialist Tom McCarthy, who was on the scene Saturday. McCarthy said the road over the dam began collapsing about 1 p.m. as the water cut a 30-foot-wide swath on the south side and began cascading more than 40 feet to the Maquoketa River below.
The Lake Delhi dam was last fully inspected by the DNR in May 2009. Although a few minor repairs were still needed to be made after the flooding of 2008, no major structural problems were found on the dam, said Lori McDaniel, supervisor of the DNR’s flood plain and dam safety section.
In 2002, the flooding reached 34 feet at Maquoketa. The National Weather Service’s prediction is for a 34.8-foot crest today. Flood stage is 24 feet. The level was 27.6 feet at 5 p.m. Saturday.
“So if you were flooded in 2002, you will likely be flooded this time,” Medinger said.
Some residents along Grove Street near the Maquoketa River were moving items out of their homes, he said. The low-lying areas near the river may see high water, but there are not a lot of homes in that area. The rest of the city is not likely to be affected.
The river flows on the north side of Maquoketa.
Some county roads were closed after Friday night’s heavy rains. The Jackson County Engineer’s Office said 188th Street in Farmer’s Creek Township Sections 4, 5 and 6 are closed because of water over the roads. Davison Bottoms Road from 212th Avenue to 91st Street also is closed.
Spruce Creek Park campgrounds, north of Maquoketa, has closed because of high water on the Mississippi River.