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U.S. NEWS Thursday 21 March 2019

Flooded Iowa communities surviving with trucked-in water

Continued from Front those who need meals. Works CEO Bill Stowe.
“This is a great opportunity The water utility that serves
Many evacuated from to learn real life,” Wells said. about 500,000 central Iowa
flooded areas in the south- The surging waters have customers also at times
western part of the state damaged hundreds of deals with high levels of
are staying in shelters or homes in the Midwest and nitrate from farm fertilizer
with family and friends in been blamed for at least runoff, but the volume of
the wake of the flooding three deaths — two in Ne- water has diluted that im-
and water struggles it has braska and one in Iowa. pact and isn’t currently a
caused. The flooding led to trains concern, Stowe said.
Trucks are hauling about being halted in Missouri, National Weather Service
300,000 gallons (1.1 mil- creating transportation hydrologist Kevin Low said
lion liters) per day to Glen- problems for both people during a telephone brief-
wood’s water treatment and products. It also has ing Wednesday that “ma-
plant from the neighbor- taken a heavy toll on agri- jor and perhaps historic”
ing cities of Red Oak and culture, inundating tens of flooding is possible later
Shenandoah, according thousands of acres, threat- this month at some spots
to the state Department of ening stockpiled grain and on the Big Sioux and James Treyton Gubser, left, and his uncle Daniel Gubser paddle using
shovels through the floodwaters after they rescued Daniel’s kid’s
Natural Resources. Grocery killing livestock. rivers in South Dakota and cat, Bob Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Hamburg, Iowa.
store chains Hy-Vee and Scientists say climate northwestern Iowa.q Associated Press
Fareway also have pro- change is responsible for
vided truckloads of bottled more intense and more
water. frequent extreme weath-
Mike Wells, superintendent er such as storms, floods,
of the Hamburg Communi- droughts and fires, but
ty School District, said one without extensive study
of the biggest concerns they cannot directly link a
about having no fresh wa- single weather event to the
ter is staying clean. The changing climate.
school district has coordi- Flooding hit Hamburg and
nated providing buses for Glenwood, which com-
residents to ride 25 miles (40 bined have about 6,000
kilometers) to Shenandoah residents, after the storm.
or 10 miles (16 kilometers) Hamburg evacuated over
to Sidney to shower. A local the weekend. So did a por-
ministerial society has been tion of Mills County near
picking up residents’ laun- Glenwood. Officials said
dry at the school district, the communities’ water
taking it to Shenandoah to supplies became compro-
wash it, and returning it. mised. Water quality suffers
“These are the best people. during flooding even for ar-
There’s no despair. There’s eas not directly affected by
no giving up,” Wells said. floodwater. In Des Moines
He said school would re- — which gets its water from
sume Thursday because two rivers that are flood-
it’s important for children to ing, though not as much
get back into their routine. as the Missouri River — lev-
He said the first half of the els of ammonia and other
school day will be regular contaminants rise during
classes, but in the after- floods. That may require in-
noon students will help col- creased use of chlorine to
lect laundry, deliver water, disinfect the water “and a
check on older residents careful balancing act not
and help provide food to to overtreat,” said Water