As the Mississippi River recedes to its banks, we can breathe a sigh of relief. The floodwaters claimed no lives, and our downtown areas were spared major damage. We can thank good planning and a bit of luck with the weather for that.
Yes, the waters flooded River Drive in Davenport and adjacent public areas and surrounded Modern Woodmen Park, making it inaccessible. Traffic was rerouted around flooded areas, and gates and pumps were used to keep Canadian Pacific-Kansas City trains running. For the most part, businesses along the river in downtown Davenport were able to remain open despite the high water just feet away.
That’s a far cry from the flood of 2019, when the Mississippi River broke through the sand-filled HESCO barriers and flooded downtown Davenport, causing $30 million in lost revenue and damages.
Much of the focus during flood season in the Quad-Cities is on Davenport, with its 9-mile riverfront. It’s the largest city on the Mississippi River without a flood wall or levee system. Bettendorf, East Moline and Rock Island have floodwalls.
People are also reading…
We learned some lessons from the 2019 flood. With some advice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Davenport made temporary HESCO barriers twice as tall and wide this year. That and a lack of April rain helped keep the downtown relatively safe.
What also helped was the city's completion of a $10.6 million project that replaced a 1930s sewer line that ran along the Mississippi River. That reduced the amount of river water from getting into the city's sewer plant, cutting the gallons per day from 55 million in 2019 to 20 million this year during peak flooding.
The river crested on Monday at 21.45 feet, which ranks No. 8 on the list of historic crests, just below 2008's crest of 21.49 feet. The 2019 flood reached 22.7 feet. Major flood stage is 18 feet.
Thanks goes to city workers, city officials, Army Corps of Engineers, business owners and every friend and neighbor that stepped up to help protect people and property from the flooding.
Public Works Director Nicole Gleason said the city will soon demobilize barriers, starting with the Village of East Davenport, and removing the debris, washing streets and disposing of contaminated sandbags.
After studying the issue for two years following the 2019 flood, the City Council approved a consultant's 10-year, $165 million plan that begins by replacing storm sewer underground and eventually raise parts of River Drive to protect the city up to river stage 22 feet without temporary barriers.
We say full speed ahead with that plan. And, as we put the 2023 flood behind us, we are grateful for lessons learned.