Damage the constant in flood recovery

By MATT MILNER Courier staff writer

July 17, 2008 10:48 am

— OTTUMWA — There was no rhyme or reason to the waters that are still more than a foot above flood stage.
Damage is the only constant, but it varies considerably from one structure to another. Some sheds floated hundreds of yards, stopping only when they struck trees. Others, apparently lighter and more mobile, stayed put.
One resident pointed out scrapes near the top of his carport. Flood debris hit with enough force to strip away the paint. But a light bulb hanging from the carport’s ceiling fan was undamaged, spared by the whim of the water.
Even the ground is different, depending on what the water carried out of the river’s banks. Along Rabbit Run Road, the ground is covered in sand a couple inches deep. Ripples mark the water’s currents.
Mud is more common on 155th Avenue near Rock Bluff Road. Wayne Rupe said it arrived when the river crested a second time a week ago. The first crest was 12 feet deep, he said, but you could see down 6 or 8 feet. The water was clear.
Rupe could only see about 6 inches down when the river came up again. It was almost as much mud as river. And things dried out slowly.
“Yesterday and today have been the only days dry enough that I can do anything yet,” he said Wednesday.
Rupe used a tractor to help even out the ground where he usually has his trailer. It’s not there; he got out before the flood arrived. But he wants to come back.
The challenge right now is just getting the ground back to where it needs to be. The currents scoured out large ruts, some more than a foot deep. Rupe got an offer for him to use the tractor if he paid for the diesel for the engine, and he jumped on it.
Rupe was working less than a half mile from one of the sites county supervisors planned for a Dumpster to hold flood debris. He wasn’t holding his breath for the Dumpster, but hoped the promise of arrival would hold true.
“I’ve got a whole lot of stuff over there that needs to be thrown away,” he said. “It’ll help a lot if we can get one down here.”
Not many people were clearing off their land near Rupe. A few more were at work off Rabbit Run Road, near where another Dumpster is going in. The water didn’t get as high in those homes, but it still did a lot of damage.
Dick Damm said he’ll have to tear down and rebuild.
“It’s toast. I’ll get rid of it,” he said, gesturing to his home.
Damm already received a green light from his insurance to rebuild. He’s just waiting on county, state, and federal authorities to get going. The septic system is his main concern.
Damm is sure it will work. It worked after the floods in 1993. It needs cleaned out, but should be serviceable. But the regulations are different and Damm worries he will be required to install new systems.
He feels local authorities are holding that threat over him, but he doesn’t blame them. He blames the federal regulators, who he says are threatening the states and counties.
Damm said the new regulations could cost flood victims thousands of dollars per household. Multiply that by the number of homes flooded up and down the Des Moines, Cedar, Iowa and Mississippi rivers and you have a major windfall for companies that do septic installations and a major hit to people who need them.
“This is going to affect a hell of a lot more people than just Rabbit Run Road,” he said.
Bob Miller, one of Damm’s neighbors, is cleaning up as well. He had a county inspection scheduled last week, but a couple nights of storms put the water back across his property. He also plans to rebuild once the inspectors tell him what he needs to do.
“We’re gonna put it up on stilts. There’s a lot leaving though, I’ve heard,” he said.
Residents up and down the river say they accept a flood risk by living close to the riverbank. It comes with the location. But they almost universally blame the Army Corps of Engineers for putting recreation at Lake Red Rock and other reservoirs above flood control.
“They keep that lake for a lake. That’s not what it’s for,” Damm said. “It’s economics that drive that.”
“That reservoir is for flood control and it should have been empty this spring,” Rupe agreed. He said proper management of the reservoirs would have meant some flooding, but nothing like what residents saw.
River levels in Ottumwa remain above flood stage and will for the foreseeable future. The newest prediction shows the river falling below the 10-foot flood stage next Wednesday. But the predictions have anticipated that step several times, only to be set back by rains.
Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com

Flood debris pickups
Wapello County has established six Dumpster sites for use as residents remove wooden flood debris from their properties. The locations are:
• Rock Bluff Road at the Schlump landing entrance
• 155th Avenue off Rock Bluff Road
• The end of Walnut Street (also called 120th Street)
• Rabbit Run and Highway 63
• Cliffland Road at the Cliffland boat launch
• River Road and 20th Street (only accessible from Eldon)

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