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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Flood Update from the City of Ottumwa

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers forecast for the Des Moines River in Ottumwa indicates a fairly steady river stage in Wapello County for the next several days.  The river at Ottumwa crested at 18 feet Monday evening and is steadily falling.  The Corps is forecasting a river stage below 16 feet by Thursday, July 8.   Red Rock Lake Reservoir is expected to remain at a steady 50,000 cubic feet per second outflow for the next several days.

Officials are watching the weather forecast carefully.   Additional rainfall in the Des Moines River basin will have a direct impact on the river.   Rainfall amounts from ½ to 1 inch should have a negligible effect.   Amounts over an inch could cause brief rises and falls in the river levels.  The National Weather Service’s “Flood Warning” for the Des Moines River in Wapello County remains in effect until further notice.

The City of Ottumwa is protected by a levee up to a 25-foot river stage. The levee system in Ottumwa is intact.   Additional storm water pumps are in place to deal with storm related flash flooding behind the levee system.

Two agricultural berms have been breeched near Eddyville in the past 2 days.   On Monday, a berm south of Eddyville was compromised flooding a farm field area and overflowing Eddyville’s sanitary wastewater lagoon.     This morning, a breech occurred north of Eddyville flooding some low-lying fields.   Neither situation is an immediate threat to the City of Eddyville.

Historical Crests on the Des Moines River at Ottumwa:
(1) 22.15 ft on 07/12/1993
(2) 20.60 ft on 06/17/2008
(3) 20.20 ft on 06/07/1947 – pre levee