Flooding in the Q-C: 'You have to live with it'
Celebration still on
This weekend’s Central High School riverboat prom aboard the Celebration Belle in Moline is a go.
Even though floodwater is lapping at the boarding bridge at the cruise boat moored along the Ben Butterworth Parkway, an employee entrance will accommodate passengers.
“We’re still going,” said Robin Schadler, business and marketing manager. “We’ll be boarding from the back bridge.
“We have a lunch cruise Thursday, a Friday night dinner cruise, and I’ve got 600 kids coming for prom Saturday night. We’re ready for them.”
The Celebration Belle is at the westernmost section of the parkway, and much of the parking lot is dry. Most of River Drive, however, was under water Monday.
Celebration River Cruises anchors the west end of the parkway while the Captain’s Table restaurant anchors the eastern end.
“People think we’re closed, but that’s not the case,” Schadler said. “The parking lot is good, and we can get people on board. That’s all we need.”
Captain’s Table still set
In the four years that Carol and Mark Luciani have owned the Captain’s Table restaurant along Ben Butterworth Parkway, the Mississippi River has stayed in its banks.
The Lucianis were doing the only thing they could do for their first flood Monday, keeping an eye on the encroaching floodwaters.
“We don’t know what to expect, but as long as the road stays open, we’ll stay open,” Carol Luciani said. “We’ll just have to see how the road does.”
The river was out of its banks Monday on either side of the restaurant, but a small stretch of River Drive that runs parallel to it remained dry, along with the parking lot.
From her windowed perch at the greeting station just inside the Captain’s Table, Carol Luciani also was keeping an eye on the handful of boats that are docked at the neighboring Marquis Harbor. A couple of the large houseboats appeared to be close to hitting the top of the covered docks.
“Those docks don’t give,” she said. “I’m sure the boat owners are getting concerned. I would imagine some of them are wishing they hadn’t put their boats in yet.”
Skybridge provides good view
Downtown Davenport was relatively quiet Monday morning as city crews and a few others coped with the rising Mississippi River.
At 7:45 a.m. Monday, Jim Bateman, a security employee for Rhythm City Casino, was on the skybridge after the gaming boat was closed Sunday afternoon because of flooding.
“I got here at 6:30 a.m. and will be here eight hours,” he said. “I have to let them know we are closed and they can’t go down because of the water.”
Also on the skybridge shortly before 8 a.m. were three friends who were taking photographs of the downtown flooding “just to look at how overflowing it is,” said Sarah Leonard, 16, of Davenport.
Two city sewer department workers were stationed at River Drive at Pershing and Iowa streets shortly after 8 a.m. handling pumps and keeping an eye on the berm made of clay, covered with plastic and weighed down with sandbags.
“As far as I know, things are fine. It’s gone up, I would say, 6 inches overnight,” said Joe Akers, a laborer with the sewer department.
Flooding moves NAMI walk
Flooding at Credit Island in Davenport has forced NAMI of Scott County to move its 3.1-mile walk from Credit Island to Fejervary Park in Davenport. The walk will be 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the park. The walk raises awareness for mental health and funds for NAMI’s local education, support and advocacy programs. Walking teams are invited; no registration fee is required.
For more information, contact Greg Paulline and Teri Hughes-Paulline at namiwalkscottcounty@mschsi.com or call (563) 388-9068.
Hip-waders needed for Campbell’s IslandWearing hip-waders Monday afternoon as he walked along Island Avenue on Campbell’s Island, Glen Miller said his house was still high and dry, but water was over his driveway.
“It has come up quite a bit today,” he said. “That is why I moved my truck.”
He moved his wife’s car Sunday night, saying “we wouldn’t have got it out today.”
Part of Island Avenue located before his property is covered with water, and the riverside stretch of Island Avenue, just north of his drive was covered with water. Miller has lived on Campbell’s Island most of his life.
A few cars passed Miller as he walked, driving through the brief stretch of water that extended over the road. A neighbor stopped to chat with him about the crest before driving on.
LeClaire residents deal with flooding
Water lapped just below Canal Shore Drive in LeClaire, Iowa, as Gale Coss stood in a neighbor’s yard trying to pump out seepage from the rising Mississippi River.
Coss has lived in his house for 50 years, through the river-busting floods of 1965, 1993 and 2001. He elevated his house in 1969.
“You want to live on the river, you have to live with it,” he said.
The pump he has working on the seepage isn’t getting ahead of the water. He figures a few extra sandbags should take care of the problem.
LeClaire City Administrator Ed Choate said sandbags and sand have been provided to a few residents. Water was seeping into low-lying yards protected by Canal Shore Drive, including Coss’ neighbor’s yard.
Water was seeping into the riverside cement casement surrounding LeClaire’s Lone Star steamer, but hopes were the water wouldn’t reach the aging boat. Occasional bursts of snow and sleet didn’t slow workers who are constructing the steel skeleton that will hold windows enclosing the boat.
Flooding minor in Bettendorf
Some flooding has occurred on Harbor Drive and 245th Avenue in Bettendorf, Public Works Director Wally Mook said. The city has provided residents with bags and sand. “Right now things are not too bad.”
Also, some residents of Marigold Land, near Olympic Steel, are sandbagging to keep water out of their exposed basements.
Beginning today, Eagles Landing, Pigeon Creek and Leach Park areas are closed to the public, due to floodwater. In addition, the Riverfront Trail is also closed between Davenport and the I-74 bridge. For more information, call (563) 344-4113.
The City of Bettendorf has had to bypass treating its raw sewage and is dumping it straight into the river, Mook said.
The wastewater treatment plant in Davenport cannot accept Bettendorf’s sewage because it is almost totally under water and is not working properly, he explained. “It’s not a good situation.”
Mook said the city has notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources about the dumping. He said Iowa American Water officials assured him that river water will be heavily treated before coming out of residents’ taps.
Pleasant Valley neighborhood submerged
At Spencer Road in Pleasant Valley, floodwaters continued Monday to creep toward State Street. Roads in the riverfront neighborhoods that Spencer Road leads to were submerged, and residents could get to their homes only by boat.
The neighborhood appeared deserted Monday with the exception of one man wading through the mess. He appeared to be very irritated, saying only, “I don’t want to talk to you” to a reporter.
Marinas remain open
Lindsay Park Marina in Davenport, Marquis Harbor Marina in Moline and Sunset Marina in Rock Island all remain open despite the high river.
Moline city officials warn against trying to access Marquis Marina by water because of the strong current. At Sunset Marina, city officials are putting up temporary walkways so residents can access their boats.
(Reporters Barb Ickes, Doug Schorpp, Kurt Allemeier and David Heitz contributed.)