DAVENPORT, Iowa-- The Davenport Flood Task Force met for the first time Monday, July 9. Their first goal was prioritizing what needs to be protected in the flood plan moving forward. (You can watch the full meeting at the bottom of this article.)
The group prioritized the waste water treatment plant, River Drive and the bridges in and out of Davenport the most. But they stressed it was important to try protecting all assets, from neighborhoods to businesses.
"If this plays out the way it should, I think we'll start focusing on those areas," says Tim Baldwin, owner of Front Street Brewery. "Once we got over the initial shock and awe of the flood to begin with, the whole thing's been kind of exciting."
The flood task force has months of work ahead. They'll next look at what flood level the city needs to plan for as well as how to exactly do that. All options are on the table.
"These are tough decisions," Alderman Kyle Gripp says. "That's why I want to make sure this group is leaning on our technical experts: our hydrologists, the folks from the Corps of Engineers."
The recommendations from the task force will be worked into official plans that are eventually voted on by the city. Gripp says the task force is expected to meet through the end of the year and come up with a complete vision for the city's flood plan.
"There's going to have to be professionals who put that together and say, 'If you want to protect this asset at the level, and here's how much it's going to cost,'" he says.
Baldwin says it's exciting to be moving forward and putting the stresses of flood fighting behind.
"It's good to put everything that's transpired in that last couple of months behind us, the letter and the back and forth, and to actually role up our sleeves to get something done."
The task force meets next on July 23. The meetings are open to the public.
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City leaders in Davenport are discussing their flood recovery strategy with the community.