Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BEE BRANCH: Difference between revisions
(New page: BEE BRANCH. Early maps of Dubuque indicated a creek following the present route of Kaufmann Avenue running easterly to the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Over the years as development of Dubuque...) |
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BEE BRANCH. Early maps of Dubuque indicated a creek following the present route of Kaufmann Avenue running easterly to the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. | BEE BRANCH. Early maps of Dubuque indicated a creek following the present route of Kaufmann Avenue running easterly to the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. The watershed of this creek included in 2010 all the land north of Kaufmann Avenue to the area of [[EISENHOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL]]. | ||
Over the years as development of Dubuque reached north, the creek was gradually channeled into culverts. As more of the land was covered by impermeable materials such as concrete, less and less water could be absorbed into the ground. Runoff increased leading to "ponding" on roadways and flooded basements. | Over the years as development of Dubuque reached north, the creek was gradually channeled into culverts. As more of the land was covered by impermeable materials such as concrete, less and less water could be absorbed into the ground. Runoff increased leading to "ponding" on roadways and flooded basements. | ||
Revision as of 04:39, 21 November 2010
BEE BRANCH. Early maps of Dubuque indicated a creek following the present route of Kaufmann Avenue running easterly to the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. The watershed of this creek included in 2010 all the land north of Kaufmann Avenue to the area of EISENHOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
Over the years as development of Dubuque reached north, the creek was gradually channeled into culverts. As more of the land was covered by impermeable materials such as concrete, less and less water could be absorbed into the ground. Runoff increased leading to "ponding" on roadways and flooded basements.
Following a major storm in 1999, the city of Dubuque spent $275,000 for an engineering study called the Drainage Basin Master Plan (DBMP). Completed in the fall of 2001, the DBMP determined that approximately 1,150 homes and businesses were at risk of flood damage during heavy rains. Heavy rains came again 2002, 2004, and in July of 2010.
Engineering studies indicated that to adequately confine the amount of runoff being experienced, culverts five times the size of those in use would need to be installed. A less-expensive alternative was to restore the Bee Branch Creek to a form of its original condition. Some water would always be present in the lowest level of the new waterway. When rains occurred, the water would rise to fill a flood zone that was planned to be large enough to reduce the chance of damage to property.
Construction of the first phase, the Lower Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project, started in September of 2010 and was scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011. Construction of all phases of the Bee Branch Project were scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2013.
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Sources: City of Dubuque website
Televised interview with Deron Muehring, Engineering Department.