HUMBOLDT — Ron Marchant woke up at 7 a.m. Wednesday to see water from the west fork of the Des Moines River nearly covering his mailbox.
The river in Humboldt, a town of about 5,000 people in north central Iowa, reached a record high of 15.9 feet in the morning, according to the National Water Prediction Service. It was expected to crest at 16.5 feet early Thursday.
Though not high enough to reach street level, water reached backyards and trees along the river. Cracking was heard as branches broke off and were swept away. Water traveled east at a swift pace, while a few items like garbage cans floated in the river along with debris.
Residents along River Drive created levees out of sandbags, while some sheds and docks started to take on water.
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Marchant said the water reached as far as his telephone pole, which is when he "started getting nervous." He went out before water levels rose and made markers on his property to measure projected water levels and hoped the river wouldn't reach 17 feet, which would cover his driveway.
"I'm more worried about (MidAmerican Energy) cutting my power off," Marchant said. "It's still on, but they've talked about shutting it off."
Geoff Greenwood, spokesperson for MidAmerican, said two electric customers were without power due to the flood emergency, one of which asked to be disconnected "out of an abundance of caution." The company turned off service to 150 natural gas customers, he said.
"In any event, we’re monitoring forecasts and flood levels very closely, and it’s possible, based on changing conditions, that we could temporarily turn off power to additional customers for safety reasons — whether a customer requests the emergency disconnection or if we determine it’s absolutely necessary due to safety concerns," Greenwood said.
Jan Dodd, who lives eight streets away from the river, said she was more concerned about efforts to conserve water.
"To handle the outflow of the water, (the city) wants people to cut back on using water because they don't want the system overloaded," Dodd said.
Humboldt City Administrator Cole Bockelmann said residents were asked on Tuesday to conserve their water usage.
"Whether it's reducing shower time, not irrigating lawns, not doing laundry or dishwashers unless absolutely necessary — not necessarily water itself but from things flowing into the drain," Bockelmann said. "We put that message out yesterday, and it seems to be working because our flows are pretty stable."
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Humboldt initially did its planning based on the river rising to 17 feet, which was what was predicted earlier this week, but that has been reduced slightly.
The high river levels in the north central part of the state come as northwest Iowa deals with historic flooding that started over the weekend, resulting in mass emergency evacuations and at least one death. Floodwaters inundated Rock Valley and Spencer, as well as several smaller communities downstream, and are now slowly receding.
Other areas along the west fork of the Des Moines River also experienced record water levels this week, including Estherville and Emmetsburg. Downstream, the river at Fort Dodge was forecast to crest early Thursday at its third-highest level.
Dawn Boland brought her grandkids to Phinney Park in Fort Dodge to see the river from a safe distance. The water had crept up the trail just below the street, and the river could be seen flowing briskly from their viewing spot.
Boland's home on Northwest Second Street is prepped with sandbags in case water levels rise higher than projected. The river was at 15.9 feet Wednesday afternoon and was expected to rise about a foot overnight, according to the National Water Prediction Service.
Boland said she wasn't too concerned about the flooding, recalling even higher water levels during the flood of 1993.
That year, "the water was all the way up on Second Street," Boland said. "And I got pictures from 1954, because that was before my time. All of the bottom (under the bridge) was totally flooded."
The Webster County Road Department is prepared to evacuate people, Webster County engineer Jamie Johll said, though at this point officials think the efforts are just precautionary.
"If we are forced to evacuate people, we're working with Iowa Central Community College; they have dorms they'll make available," Johll said. "And (Webster County) Emergency Management has resources, cots and blankets available in case."
Residents near the river along First and Second Street Northwest have been informed by MidAmerican Energy it may be necessary to turn their power off. Boland received her notification on June 23, though her power is still on.
Johll said some residents have had their gas turned off, though their electricity remains on. Greenwood said two customers were without electricity and 50 were without natural gas as of Wednesday morning.
The city began efforts to mitigate flooding impact in the beginning of the week, setting up sandbags at the Otho Community Center, Avenue B at M Street, the Hydro-Electric Park, and Amigos. Several roads and trails by the river remain closed.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
