Muscatine plans training exercise for flood preparedness
The Department of Public Works in Muscatine plans to exercise Flood Gate 2 on 2nd Street at Mad Creek as part of a training exercise and the flood preparedness plan, according to a news release.
The City of Muscatine plans to close East 2nd Street from Oak Street to Highway 92 from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 14, as the gate is moved into place to complete the flood wall and then moved back to its storage location.
The detour for the street closure will be to use East 5th Street from either Park Avenue or from Oak Street.
Maintenance of the flood gate is usually conducted annually prior to the start of the spring flood season. With no major flooding anticipated during spring 2024, the exercise was postponed until next week.
The Department of Public Works has several new staff members who will receive their first training on the gate closure next Tuesday. The department also will close Flood Gate 1 on Mississippi Drive at the HNI entrance, later next week or the week after for training and maintenance purposes.
There is always the potential that heavy rain in the upper river basin will create flooding conditions downstream, so the department is ensuring that all gates work properly if needed. The river is expected to crest at 13.6 feet on Tuesday. Flood stage is 16 feet, the release says.
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