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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- The flooding in Southeast Iowa leaves extensive damage and clean up work.

Our Fact Finder Team talked with Ottumwa Mayor Dale Uehling regarding the costs associated with the flooding.

Right now, a total cost available because money is being spent daily and from a variety of departments to help protect the city. Howerver, Mayor Uehling expects it to be well below the 2008 spending.

He told Fact Finder some of the main costs come from paying for overtime, sewers, pumps, sand, levee work, and fuel.

Fact Finder learned depending on the disaster declaration the city will be reimbursed for nearly all the costs from FEMA.

They are keeping tight figures on what they are spending so they can be sure no money spent slips through the cracks.

The 2008 flood provided a learning opportunity for the city to become more fiscally responsible in dealing with the flood. One tip they learned was not to put sandbags out until absolutely necessary. The city will also look for outside help in cleanup efforts.

 “They don’t pay for overtime. One of the things we will have is contractors called in because a contractor is an additional cost. But damage to equipment and some of those things they will pay for,” Uehling said.

In 2008 Ottumwa billed FEMA for $1.3 million. As of now, the cost should stay $1 million; however more damage could be assessed when the river goes down.

“We will have some other things when the river goes down there may be some places along the river where we will have to do some work on the levee system,” Uehling said.

Uehling stressed things could be much worse if it were not for a strong levee and knowledge of what to do from 2008.

“It is things like that, the extra equipment, pumps going out, the cost of fuel, the cost of overtime. Right now we haven’t had a tremendous amount of infrastructure damage that we are aware of, but we do have some.”

Mayor Ueling told Fact Finder money they spend that will not be reimbursed by FEMA will likely come from road construction projects.