| River's Edge Homepage | Location by the river’s edge
has brought a great deal of wealth and prosperity to the Quad Cities. It has also brought
some hardships to the cities, such as dealing with the flooding of the Mississippi River.
When a river is left in its natural state, periodic flooding is not problematic. When
water levels are high, the excess water spills over the river’s banks into wetland
areas known as the floodway. This floodway allows the river to stretch over its banks
without causing any damage. However, as development occurs along the river, these floodways are no longer open wetland. The floodways become filled with buildings, parking lots, and houses. The excess water now spills into these urban areas, destroying buildings and houses. As more land is urbanized along the river, the flood levels rise even higher.   The Quad Cities experienced major floods in the 1820’s,
1840’s, 1880’s, 1940’s, 1950's, 1960's and 1990's. A flood that
occurred in 1951 was the third worst on record. Over 2,000 residents were evacuated
from their homes. The year 1965 brought another record breaking flood. The fall of 1964
and the spring of 1965 were excessively wet seasons. By April 28, 1965, the Mississippi
River had crested at 22.48 feet. The city of Davenport slopes up to the north from the
river’s edge and therefore sustained minimal damage. As shown in the picture to
the right, the water did not reach much farther than 2nd street, although John O'Donnel
Stadium was completely flooded. In contrast, the city of Rock Island, located
on lower ground, faced severe flooding in its downtown area. Many buildings sustained
damage but with the help of volunteers from the Red Cross, the National Guard, and local
high schools and colleges, countless buildings were saved. Volunteers such as the one
pictured here to the left worked day and night to fill sand bags and stack them against
the rising water (American Mosaic 75). The flood of 1965 forced decisions to be
made regarding flood control. Two options existed: build a floodwall for protection
against floods and lose the riverfront scenery or leave the riverfront unprotected and let
the waters rise unhindered. The city of Rock Island decided to sacrifice a clear river
view to build a flood protection wall. The construction of this wall was finished in 1973.
Pictured at the right, the levee undoubtedly saved Rock Island from flooding during
1993. Davenport took the other option and decided on maintaining clear riverfront
access. They made the decision to leave the riverfront open and unprotected (75-76
American Mosaic). |