Flood warning issued for English, Iowa rivers

    The English River that snakes through the northern part of the county is flooding because of the recent rain and melting snow. Washington County has closed a portion of 130th street south of Kalona because there is now standing water on the road. Assistant County Engineer Jacob Thorius said Wednesday morning that people who live on the road will be able to use it but that it is now closed to through traffic.

    ?The road is not yet inundated, but there is standing water on it,? said Thorius. ?The people who live on the road know how to handle this because they deal with it on a regular basis.?

    The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the English River near Kalona Tuesday afternoon after reporting that the river was within a few inches of its flood stage. The flood stage of the English River is 14 feet, and by 3 a.m. Wednesday it had risen more than 2 feet above its flood stage to 16.1 feet. The National Weather Service forecast that the river would rise to 16.7 feet Wednesday evening and would finally fall below flood stage Friday evening.

    The English River is not the only river that is flooding. The National Weather Service has also issued a flood warning for the Iowa River near Lone Tree on the northeast edge of the county. The flood stage for the river is 15 feet, and the height of the river was reported at 14.1 feet early Wednesday morning. The river is forecast to rise to 16 feet by Saturday morning. The weather service reported that low-lying roads may be affected once the water reaches 15 feet.

For more, see our March 10 print edition.