Sixty Homes Still Under Water In Colfax

By MELANIE S. WELTE, Associated Press Writer

Floodwater from the South Skunk River flood neighborhoods in Colfax, Iowa, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Steve Pope)

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Aug 16, 2010 at 12:52 PM CST

Story Updated: Aug 16, 2010 at 12:52 PM CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — While hundreds of residents in Ames and Des Moines threw out mud-soaked belongings and scrubbed walls Monday, most displaced Colfax residents were still waiting for flood waters to recede.

Residents in the three cities were forced to evacuate last week after three nights of heavy rain caused creeks and rivers in central Iowa to flow over their banks. A 16-year-old girl was killed when a flooded creek swept her car off a road near Des Moines.

"There are many people who said if they were given a buyout check for their house today, they would take it and walk away," Colfax Mayor David Mast said.

Some Colfax residents returned home during the weekend, but hundreds were still waiting Monday for the Skunk River to drop and the water filling their houses to recede. The river was supposed to fall below flood stage Tuesday.

Mast estimated 60 houses still had water on the first floor, and 400 to 500 homes had water in their basements. Another 150 to 200 houses had backed up sewage in their basements.

"Major, major cleanup" was needed, Mast said.

In Ames, where flooding had caused a water main to break Wednesday, officials gave the all-clear Sunday, saying tap water was again safe to drink. Residents had been told to boil water before drinking it.

Wide areas of the college town of 55,000 had flood damage, including Iowa State University, where 5 feet of water had filled the basketball arena and the Scheman Conference Center next door flooded.

ISU spokesman John McCarroll said Monday there were still no damage estimate or a time line on repairs because assessments were being made as clean up progressed.

The university's fall semester is expected to start on schedule next Monday.

"The vast majority of campus was not affected," McCarroll said.

Meanwhile, homeowners and landlords were allowed to return to their properties and begin clean up as soon as they felt it was safe.

"If you drive around different parts of Ames, you'll see furniture on the lawn, carpets on the lawns," city spokeswoman Susan Gwiasda said.

In Des Moines, officials and utility crews on Monday were still checking homes along Four Mile Creek to ensure they were safe before residents returned. The inspections began Friday and would continue this week, said A.J. Munn, Polk County's emergency management director.

Most residents of two mobile home parks had returned home during the weekend, but other residents along the creek were still waiting for the OK, Munn said.

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