High water on the upper Mississippi River activates flood control measures. This past weekend at Guttenberg, Iowa (42.785N 91.101W) the lock and dam system was locked in the wide open position - meaning that the dam portion of the control lifted its flood gates to let the maximum amount of water pass down river. When the gates are lowered the system produces a large river pool so that navigable traffic may pass. Last week's 8 - 14 inches of rain which fell in NE Iowa produced among other things, a three foot rise in the river. By the way that's Wisconsin on the far side of the river - the land of beer and cheese. Know that.
My Brother and Nephew work at Lock and Dam Number 10. My Dad as a recent High School. Graduate worked on clearing the bottom lands of trees so that this dam could be constructed in the early 1930s.
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