(The Center Square) – Residents have until September 15 to contribute final feedback on the City of Davenport’s draft plan for multi-million dollar flood resilience projects along the Mississippi River, the city has announced.
“This is the 3rd wave of engagement for the project and we have tried to systematically narrow the scope and options of various strategies and solutions throughout the duration of this study,” City of Davenport Assistant Public Works Director Clay Merritt told The Center Square in an emailed statement. “We’ve heard from people that these are the same ones that we have provided before, which is true. Being the last round of input, we are looking for confirmation.”
Merritt said the Davenport City Council and Mayor Mike Matson identified the study as a “high priority.” It is currently on the City Administrator’s work plan, which guides staff beyond day-to-day core operations, he said.
“Once the plan has been completed and accepted, this will allow us to begin implementation of those projects as well as seek state or federal funds for the more expensive ones,” he said.
City of Davenport Public Works Administration Communications and Preparedness Manager Robbin Dunn told The Center Square in an emailed statement that once the plan is approved, Davenport will use “a combination of Capital Improvement Program, federal and state grants funds to support implementation of the plan for flood resilience.”
Merritt said the city has received “a healthy amount” of feedback on the two previous rounds of outreach.
The city studied four types of structural solutions – underground, floodwall, raised road, and landscape berm – for three flood stages: 18′-22’; 24’; and 27’. The solutions are divided into Village of East Davenport; Downtown Davenport (4th to Gaines); Veterans Memorial and Centennial Park; and West Davenport and Credit Island.
“Most people who have responded are looking for us to perform projects that provide mitigation close to the 18-22 ft events that we typically receive, with some select locations getting close to 24,” he said.
The primary strategies for the 18′-22’ stage would be raised road and underground, and they would be landscape berm and flood wall for the 24’ stage, the video showed. Seventy-three percent of respondents have said the “more” or “most” important priority for the city should be business/commercial buildings, the video showed. Underground was popular (“~60% support across areas”) because it is “cost effective,” and “sets up the groundwork for long-term improvement,” has “quick implementation,” and “improves access to businesses.”
- In Village of East Davenport (Area 1), 18-22’ flood resilience would cost $1.4 million to $2.4 million, take one to five years for construction, and reduce flood risk for 10 residents.
- In Downtown Davenport (Area 2), 18-22’ flood resilience would about $61.4 million to $74.8 million and take one to five years.
- In the Veterans Memorial Park and Centennial Park area (Area 3), 18’-22’ flood resilience would cost about $15.8 million to $20.4 million and take up to 10 years for completion of all aspects, apart from the construction of permanent pump stations (an additional $13.5 million to $22.5 million) construction taking at least 10 years.
- In the West Davenport and Credit Island area (Area 4), 18’-22’ flood resilience would cost about $18.1 million to $19.5 million and take up to 10 years to complete of all aspects. Improving flow under the causeway and enhancing a neighborhood park to enhance recreation would cost at least $3.3 million.
The city said that it values input from the public regardless of whether they live in the Mississippi River floodplain and encourages those who complete the survey online to first watch a video overview to learn about the proposals.
Paper copies of the survey are available at Davenport Library branches. People can print the survey and drop it off at one of the library branches or mail it to Davenport Public Works, 1200 E 46th St, Davenport, IA 52807 by Sept. 8.
The survey may take about 30 minutes to complete, and responses will remain anonymous, the city said on its website.
