Statewide Iowa — Boaters on both sides of Iowa need to use caution during the upcoming holiday weekend, but for different reasons. Water levels are expected to rise more than a foot on the Mississippi River due to snowmelt and rains to the north. On the Missouri River, however, DNR fisheries biologist Bryan Hayes says it’s exceptionally dry and the water levels are very low.
Some of the trouble areas in the west include Carter Lake in Pottawattamie County, which is is three feet below crest. The water level at Lake Manawa has been down a few feet all spring. Elsewhere, low levels are reported on Blue Lake in Monona County, DeSoto Bend in Harrison County, Snyder Bend and Browns Lake in Woodbury County, and several others along the Interstate 29 corridor.
The watershed of the Missouri River extends all the way to Montana, with several flood control reservoirs in South Dakota.
Meanwhile, National Weather Service forecasters say the Mississippi River is rising quickly and currents are strong. That waterway is expected to crest at Davenport on Sunday around 13-and-a-half feet, that’s about 18 inches shy of the initial flood stage.
