DAVENPORT, Iowa — After a record-breaking flood in 2019, the City of Davenport commissioned a study looking at how it handles flooding and all of its existing infrastructure.
"The mayor and the City Council looked at staff and then went out and said, 'Hey we need to start looking at things differently," Clay Merritt, director of engineering and capital projects with Davenport Public Works, said.
Two years later, the city approved the Mississippi River Flood Resiliency Plan. It's designed to help the city resist floods of up to 22 feet. For flooding beyond that, including the 22.64-foot peak of the 2019 flood, the city will use tools like barriers and pumps.
"So the idea is, we want to keep East River Drive open up to the Flood Stage 22, we close it right now at about Flood Stage 19," Merritt said.
Merritt says the flood plan's priority is keeping roads open during floods.
"Water actually comes up from the Mississippi, and we experienced that and have to close off East River Drive sooner, because water comes up from underneath the sump in the storm sewer system, and then gets on the roadway," Merritt said.
That happened last year, when River Drive and other downtown streets closed.
The first step of the flood plan includes upgrading the storm sewers under East River Drive between Third Street and Tremont Avenue. This includes manholes, gate well structures and new storm sewer lines.
Merritt expects the $3.8 million project to finish by June. Once that project is finished, Public Works will start a similar storm sewer replacement on Mound Street near the Village of East Davenport.
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