Mayflower, Art Building West closed; Fleet Services relocated
Friday, May 31, 2013
Written by: Stephen Pradarelli

The University of Iowa completed flood protection efforts around Mayflower Residence Hall Friday morning and is on track to close Theater Building and the Museum of Art building, which houses a portion of the School of Music, by the end of the day.

Crews will work over the weekend to encircle the arts campus buildings with HESCO barriers as further protection against possible flooding.

The Iowa City area received less rainfall than predicted overnight, and university and community leaders are hoping the trend continues the next 24 hours. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected today in the Iowa River basin.

Because of the rain and saturated ground the Coralville Reservoir is nearing capacity and water is expected to go over the top of the 712-foot spillway by Tuesday before peaking at 712.1 feet and an outflow of near 20,500 cubic feet per second ( cfs ) June 8 or 9.

To minimize the spillway overflow, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to manually increase outflow of water from the reservoir to 17,000 cfs Friday afternoon and gradually increase that to 20,000 cfs over the weekend and early next week. The next chance for potentially notable rainfall comes late Tuesday into Wednesday, based on current forecasts.

Other UI information as of 2 p.m. Friday, May 31:

  • Flood work at Mayflower Residence Hall was completed Friday morning. Eighty-four occupants, as well as staff, have been relocated and the HESCO barrier is in place.
  • HESCO barriers are being placed around the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories ( IATL ), although the facility is being kept open to faculty, staff, and students for the time being.
  • HESCO barriers are being installed along the walkways east and west of the Iowa River through campus, with the goal of completing that work by the end of the day, weather permitting.
  • UI Parking and Transportation has relocated its Fleet Services operation to Lot 43 at the West Campus Transportation Center north of Kinnick Stadium as of noon Friday, with offices relocated temporarily to the second floor of the center.
  • The UI will again hold a media briefing at 3 p.m. Friday, May 31, in 2520D University Capitol Centre. The briefing will be video streamed live at now.uiowa.edu/2013/05/flood-preparation-news-briefing-may-31

In the interest of safety, travelers and pedestrians are again reminded to avoid areas where flood preparation work continues and to allow for extra time getting to and around campus, especially after the City of Iowa City closed Dubuque Street from Foster Road to Park Road Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, university business continues as usual, including at UI Hospitals and Clinics, and no activities have been canceled.

For ongoing updates, University of Iowa Communication and Marketing (UCM) has established anIowa Nowhub for the latest information about flood preparations at now.uiowa.edu/keywords/flood-updates-2013. Additionally, UCM is providing information via Twitter (hashtag #UIFloodUpdates).

Questions about flood preparations and related issues may be directed via email to uiflood-questions@uiowa.edu. A member of the UCM staff will try to track down answers as soon as possible or refer queries to appropriate sources.