THE INDEPENDENT DAILY NEWSPAPER FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868 Tuesday, June 24, 2008 INSIDE ‘If we can continue to keep the gates open, we can lower the levels about 1 foot per day.’ — John Castle, Coralville Reservoir operations manager for the Army Corps of Engineers Dorm hit hard Prime Time Mayflower, with finally underway its 500-plus After a weeklong delay, the Prime Time League kicks off rooms, is out of its 22nd summer in North Liberty. Sports, 10 commission for at least fall Some Johnson County roads are semester. By Peter Gustin reopening; THE DAILY IOWAN others, however, Mayflower Residence Hall will remain closed stay empty through the fall Now-open roads: semester and possibly for the Iowa City: entire 2008-09 school year. • Iowa Avenue bridge “All mechanical systems, such • Mormon Trek from Melrose as sewage pumps, air condition- Avenue to Prairie Meadow ing, exhaust fans, and boilers for Drive Phoebe Webb/The Daily Iowan heating, are located in the two • Madison Street Around 5 p.m. on Monday, water was barely flowing over the top of the Coralville Dam spillway. A park ranger estimated that only a basement parking garages that • Market Street quarter inch of water was still trickling over the dam. are completely flooded,” said Jeff • Benton Street Aaberg, the director of facilities • Kirkwood Avenue S. and operations for University • S. Dubuque Street Housing. “Water has also • S. Clinton Street reached and flooded the front • Highway 1 lobby, first floor, and transformer • Highway 6 Water drops at spillway in back.” • Sturgis Drive Inspectors have not yet been • Orchard Street able to get inside, but flooding • Commercial Drive has occurred in all apartments • Commercial Court With water under the top of the spillway, on the first floor, and it most like- • Foster Road ly extends into the exercise room • Butler Bridge (North Dubuque Corps officials can control the amount being released. and convenience store as well. Street) By Anna Lothson By controlling the water levels, officials It will take a while to assess • South Riverside Drive from damages to the structure of the THE DAILY IOWAN can sidestep more erosion and soil prob- Reservoir water levels Highway 6 to Mormon Trek building, electrical wiring, data lems, he said. Current issues: cables, and the drywall, Aaberg Boulevard Officials have predicted the Coralville “If the banks get too wet, and the soil • Water draining off the land too quickly said. However, there is also a con- Coralville: Dam spillway overflow should come to a can no longer hold the water, that is where • First Avenue, Fifth Street and could cause erosion cern over mold and air quality. halt by this morning. runoff problems begin,” Castle said. north • If soil cannot hold more water, runoff Water levels were expected to drop below While he said they are only in the pre- SEE MAYFLOWER, 3 • Highway 6 (only one lane the spillway by midnight Monday,said John occurs each direction east of 6th liminary stages of damage assessment, Castle, the Coralville Reservoir operations • Dirty, mud-filled water Avenue) the water level dropping below the spill- • Future rain is hard to predict and could manager for the Army Corps of Engineers. The effect from the • Fifth Street way is great progress. cause another spillover The Coralville Reservoir’s water loss of Mayflower Rural Johnson County: Besides the dam, Castle said that the Source: Army Corps of Engineers • Black Hawk Avenue south of level at 11 p.m. Monday was 712 feet, damage done to the camping area on the By the numbers: Black Diamond Road according to the Iowa City website. Reservoir was another concern. • Mayflower houses more than • Black Diamond Road west of With the water below the top of the “When the lake gets high, it leaves People are anxious to see what the 1,000 residents. 450th Street S.W. spillway, Corps officials said they will debris, such as trees and limbs,” he said. Reservoir areas look like, he said, and he • Around 800 residents need to • 160th Street N.W. from be able to control the amount of water For now, officials’ daily routine is to hoped to have a temporary road opened be reassigned. Greencastle Avenue to Falcon that is released, allowing workers to inspect areas and begin to see what more • 508 total dorm rooms out of Avenue N.W. assess any damage. they can do to clean up. that allows people to enter certain areas of commission • Mehaffy Bridge Road from “If we can continue to keep the gates “Before we allow people back in, we the lake sometime next week. • Temporary housing in resi- North Liberty to Sugar Bottom open, we can lower the levels about 1 foot must isolate areas to ensure safety,” dence halls comfortably holds Road per day,” Castle said. Castle said. SEE RESERVOIR, 3 eight students per lounge. • Cottage Reserve Road N.E. • Two parking garages flooded (only 1 lane) • Sutliff Road from Vega Road to Lisbon Road • Lisbon Road from Sutliff Road to the county line • The White Oak Avenue N.E. City Council ponders Officials wary of more flooding and 120th Street intersection • Ely Road N.E. By Christopher Patton • 120th Street between Naples smoking-ban options THE DAILY IOWAN Avenue and Ely Road N.E. Iowa City and the UI will • 200th Street N.E. Because the Iowa River’s floodwaters crested and reced- The councilors appear to be split on ed several times in 1993, the maintain their sandbag levees Army Corps of Engineers dailyiowan.com banning smoking on the Ped Mall. remains cautious about the in case of more flooding. By Christopher Patton Who says lights out situation this year. For photos, videos, audio, blogs, THE DAILY IOWAN The river’s level in Iowa and more, check us out online where City has the potential to come at: dailyiowan.com The Iowa City City Council Mandatory statewide no smoking: back up quickly, said Ron met Monday night to discuss the Fournier, U.S. Army Corps of Daily updates possibility of adding additional • All school grounds, including Engineers spokesman. local restrictions to the statewide regent universities “It could happen next week if Now check back at • Enclosed public buildings and dailyiowan.com during smoking ban. it rains like it rained earlier,” he State law will automatically workplaces such as restaurants the day for the latest news said. “If we get a storm that prohibit smoking in enclosed on the UI and Iowa City. and bars hangs over us for a week and a public buildings as well as on • Outdoor venues such as sports half and we get 8 inches of rain.” school grounds, in city vehicles, arenas, amphitheaters, and festivals Thus, he said, the Corps is let- WEATHER and in most businesses. The ban Cities can choose to ban smoking ting a large amount of water out also covers seating areas at out- in city-owned outdoor areas: of the Coralville Reservoir in an door entertainment venues as attempt to get its level down as well as standing-room sections • Parks quickly as possible. The lower and other places people congre- • Cemeteries the Reservoir’s water level gets gate to watch events. • Public squares now, he said, the more water it However, it’s up to the cities Source: www.iowasmokefreeair.gov, City could hold from rains later. Partly to mostly cloudy, whether to ban smoking in out- Attorney Eleanor Dilkes In 1993, the river first breezy, 50% chance of side areas “owned by the city but peaked above flood stage on rain/T-storms. not in connection with a build- covered,” Dilkes said, noting April 20, but the situation © ing,” said Eleanor Dilkes, Iowa that the only such areas not didn’t become serious until it City’s city attorney. reached flood stage again on 82 28 C 66 19 C Areas the City Council could automatically included in the © June 27 and rose to more than ban if it wished include city ban would be beer gardens at 5 feet above that level by July INDEX parks, cemeteries, and the establishments where the sale 6. It then fell slightly before ris- Pedestrian Mall. of food is only incidental to ing again and reaching 6 feet Arts 5 Opinions 4 “All our sidewalk cafés and overall business. beyond flood stage on July 25. Classifieds 8 Sports 10 any outdoor service areas at Crossword 6 restaurants would already be SEE CITY COUNCIL, 3 SEE 1993, 3 2 - The Daily Iowan - Iowa City, Iowa - Tuesday, June 24, 2008 News dailyiowan.com for more news FLOOD OF 2008 The Daily Iowan Volume 140 Issue 12 BREAKING NEWS STAFF Phone: (319) 335-6063 Publisher: E-mail: [email protected] William Casey. .335-5788 2 regents see damage Editor: Fax: 335-6297 Emileigh Barnes. ... .335-6030 CORRECTIONS Managing Editor: Call: 335-6030 Nick Petersen . .335-5855 Policy: The Daily Iowan strives for Metro Editors: Regents prepare for recovery efforts at the UI, accuracy and fairness in the reporting Dean Treftz. 335-6063 of news. If a report is wrong or Kayla Kelley . ..... 335-6063 including likely capital projects needing board approval. misleading, a request for a correction or Opinions Editor: a clarification may be made. Nate Whitney. .. .335-5863 By Brian Stewart PUBLISHING INFO Sports Editor: Brendan Stiles . .335-5848 THE DAILY IOWAN The Daily Iowan (USPS 143.360)is Arts Editors: published by Student Publications Inc., Stepping into the musty air of Anna Weigenstein . .335-5851 E131 Adler Journalism Building, Iowa Copy Chief: Hancher Auditorium, Regent City, Iowa 52242-2004, daily except President David Miles said the Beau Elliot.