The emergency flashboard will go up at Saylorville Lake this weekend, and early next week water will begin trickling onto the emergency spillway. Though the emergency spillway will be used, it won't be topped.
The Army Corp of Engineers now believes there will be three to four feet of leeway, more than enough to prevent an uncontrolled release of water down the Des Moines River. While its a relief, there's still some frustration in the Birdland neighborhood. Some businesses began packing up last week to protect what they could incase of a levee break, several home owners did the same, putting their belongings in storage and on higher ground. Now, some wonder if the expense was worth it.
On Tuesday, Jim Wolf packed up all of his belongings and moved them into a storage facility.
"If I stay here I'll be yelling and screaming my head off. If I move I'm going to spend a lot of money and holler and scream my head off."
Thursday night, Jim gave Des Moines city leaders a piece of his mind about the cost and the inconvenience of preparing for a possible flood.
"We're sitting here with storage costs and extra costs. I have to pay my mortgage costs and some place else to rent."
Jim says a high mortgage payment means he has no wiggle room for unexpected costs. He spent hundreds of dollars on a moving truck, packers, and a storage space because city and state government told him to protect his property.
"It's a terrible feeling to have. All we can say is that we always want to err on side of safety," says A.J. Mumm with the Polk County Dept. of Emergency Management.
The reality of the situation is that Jim will probably have to eat all of his moving costs.
"Right now the expense they'll incur I don't know of any programs that will reimburse them. Moving costs are an insurance policy from loss," says David Miller with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security.
Jim's flood insurance says any costs prior to a flood is considered "mitigation" and not covered under his plan. In order for Jim to get any money from the state or federal government, there has to be a flood and he has to suffer major damage.
"The truth is that the average award in the Iowa grant program is $3500. That doesn't come even close to recovering your losses. That's why you'd want to protect your things," says Miller.
The good news is that the risk of flooding decreased today. The bad news is that city leaders warn that risk won't go away for months, leaving Jim with a huge moving bill, and no way to pay it.
"Some of us don't have it. We don't make that type of money."
Here's the dilemma now: if the Birdland levee doesn't break in the next few weeks, do residents move back in? Or do they stay out of their homes until the end of flooding season, which city leaders say could last until June? Some residents are sleeping on their floors and others are paying for a hotel. Many say, they don't have the money to keep it up for very much longer.
The Army Corp of Engineers now believes there will be three to four feet of leeway, more than enough to prevent an uncontrolled release of water down the Des Moines River. While its a relief, there's still some frustration in the Birdland neighborhood. Some businesses began packing up last week to protect what they could incase of a levee break, several home owners did the same, putting their belongings in storage and on higher ground. Now, some wonder if the expense was worth it.
On Tuesday, Jim Wolf packed up all of his belongings and moved them into a storage facility.
"If I stay here I'll be yelling and screaming my head off. If I move I'm going to spend a lot of money and holler and scream my head off."
Thursday night, Jim gave Des Moines city leaders a piece of his mind about the cost and the inconvenience of preparing for a possible flood.
"We're sitting here with storage costs and extra costs. I have to pay my mortgage costs and some place else to rent."
Jim says a high mortgage payment means he has no wiggle room for unexpected costs. He spent hundreds of dollars on a moving truck, packers, and a storage space because city and state government told him to protect his property.
"It's a terrible feeling to have. All we can say is that we always want to err on side of safety," says A.J. Mumm with the Polk County Dept. of Emergency Management.
The reality of the situation is that Jim will probably have to eat all of his moving costs.
"Right now the expense they'll incur I don't know of any programs that will reimburse them. Moving costs are an insurance policy from loss," says David Miller with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security.
Jim's flood insurance says any costs prior to a flood is considered "mitigation" and not covered under his plan. In order for Jim to get any money from the state or federal government, there has to be a flood and he has to suffer major damage.
"The truth is that the average award in the Iowa grant program is $3500. That doesn't come even close to recovering your losses. That's why you'd want to protect your things," says Miller.
The good news is that the risk of flooding decreased today. The bad news is that city leaders warn that risk won't go away for months, leaving Jim with a huge moving bill, and no way to pay it.
"Some of us don't have it. We don't make that type of money."
Here's the dilemma now: if the Birdland levee doesn't break in the next few weeks, do residents move back in? Or do they stay out of their homes until the end of flooding season, which city leaders say could last until June? Some residents are sleeping on their floors and others are paying for a hotel. Many say, they don't have the money to keep it up for very much longer.
