As floodwaters continue receding, the waiting game begins
With the floodwaters of the Mississippi River nearly out of his parking lot, Jesse Anderson on Saturday reopened Nan’s Piano Bar located in the Freight House building on Davenport’s River Drive.
Anderson, the general manager of Nan’s, said the business held its grand opening weekend during the final weekend of April, and entertained about 1,000 people then. But the rising floodwaters forced him to close his doors and cancel this weekend’s piano entertainment from Memphis.
“We were full the whole first weekend,” Anderson said. “But we had to close Sunday because the parking lot was pretty full (of water). The city also had to close down some streets and we didn’t want to be a nuisance to them.”
The Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15, Rock Island, crested officially at 19.24 feet between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, Davenport.
At 6 p.m. Saturday, the Mississippi River had fallen to 18.2 feet, said National Weather Service hydrologist Jeff Zogg. “At 6 a.m. Saturday it was at 18.4 feet,” he said. “If you go back 24 hours from 6 p.m. it was 18.6 feet, so it’s fallen four-tenths of a foot in the past 24 hours, and that’s been pretty consistent since the point of the crest.
“It’s pretty much on track,” he said of the descending river. “Over the next couple of days the rate of fall should increase.”
Anderson said that Nan’s brings in national piano acts, and the reason this weekend’s was canceled is because the performers cannot afford to come out for just one day. They usually perform for several days.
On Saturday night, water covered about one-sixth of the parking lot of the Freight House, he said, adding that the Craig Bentley Trio was playing. The business should be back on schedule by Thursday when the first dueling pianos perform the first of three nights, Anderson said.
Penguins Comedy Club remained closed, he said, because it is usually easier to quickly book musical acts than comedy acts.
Davenport Public Works Director Dee Bruemmer said city crews will continue to clean as the river falls. On Saturday, pallets of unused sandbags were loaded onto flatbed trucks and hauled away, while crews swept and washed down where they could.
Bruemmer said she was hoping to pump down Marquette Street today, but that may not happen. She was hoping the river would be down to 17.4 feet then, but Zogg estimated that the floodwaters will fall to 17.5 feet by 6 p.m. today. He added that the river is expected to be at 17.2 feet by 6 a.m. Monday.
It was hoped the city would be able to get River Drive open Monday morning, she added. But the earthen levees built by the city will remain until the river falls below 17 feet.
“It may be later Monday,” she said of getting River Drive open.
Floodwaters still have a long way to recede off of Concorde Street, Enchanted Island and Credit Island, she said.
Bruemmer said she had no idea of the damage that’s been done, and will have to wait until the water recedes to get an idea. “There’s a lot to look at still in the parks,” she said of LeClaire Park and Credit Island Park.
Zogg said that “assuming we don’t get anymore heavy rainfall, we’re looking for the river to fall to around flood stage by Friday, more than likely Friday evening.”
The potential fly in the ointment, he said, is that there is the potential for heavy rains by the middle of next week.
“We’re in a stormy pattern,” Zogg said. “A lot of the systems that move across the U.S. this time of year tend to track close to the Quad-City region. It’s just that time of the year.”
He said it is too early to forecast the amount of rain the region could receive, “but it looks like moderate to heavy rains, or about one to two inches. If that happens, the tributaries will respond before the Mississippi. We’ll just have to keep an eye on that.”
The storms that were north of the Quad-Cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin last week did not dump a lot of the rain into this part of Iowa’s tributary basin, he added. “So it really had no effect on us. That water eventually will come down the Mississippi River, and may slow the rate of fall a little bit, but not significantly.”
In the meantime, a couple of nice days lay in store for the Quad-City area, he said. Today, expect sunny skies with a high in the middle 60s. Monday should be partly sunny with a high in the lower 70s.
“It’s beginning to feel like spring, again,” Zogg said.
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.
What’s being affected as River recedes:17.5 — Water affects the railroad tracks in downtown Davenport and River Drive, Pershing Avenue and Federal Street. Water affects Bettendorf’s Leach Park.
17.0 — Water is over most of Davenports Le Claire Park and lower parking lots.
16.5 — Water affects Credit Island Lane in Davenport and the 4700 block of River Drive in Moline. Water is at the base of the flood wall gates at the downtown Rock Island riverfront.
16.0 — Water affects sidewalks along the river at Le Claire Park. Water also affects Credit Island Lane and Moline’s River Drive in the 4700 block.
15.5 — Water affects Le Claire Park.
15.0 — Water affects several sections of South Concord Street south of River Drive in Davenport and is at the foundations of several homes on Enchanted Island. Water also affects industries along the river at the south end of Davenport.
15.0 — Water affects several sections of South Concord Street south of River Drive in Davenport and is at the foundations of several homes on Enchanted Island. Water also affects industries along the river at the south end of Davenport.
14.0 — Water affects a few sections of South Concord Street south of River Drive in Davenport and affects yards and outbuildings on Enchanted Island. Water is also in some houses along South Concord Street south of River Drive.
13.5 — Water affects the lowest section of South Concord Street south of River Drive in Davenport and affects other sections in the same area. Water affects the lowest sections of the Enchanted Island causeway.
13.0 — Water affects the lowest sections of both South Concord Street south of River Drive and onto the Enchanted Island causeway in Davenport. Water also surrounds some houses along South Concord Street south of River Drive.
— Times staff report