Rising river forces Iowa Games whitewater postponement to July 26

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

This weekend’s Iowa Games Whitewater slalom events in Charles City have been postponed due to rising river levels, according to the event coordinator.

Originally scheduled for Saturday, June 28, the events have been rescheduled for Saturday, July 26, Piper Wall told the Press.

Wall said the decision was made after closely monitoring upstream and local river gauge data that forecast a significant rise in the Cedar River at Charles City. The announcement came even before heavy rain started in the area Thursday afternoon.

Wall cited data from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Prediction Service indicating that river levels will likely be too high and unsafe for the scheduled events on Saturday.

“The National Weather Prediction Service is predicting the Cedar River at Charles City will be at 8.4 feet and 5,550 cubic feet per second by 7 a.m. Friday, and peak on Saturday at 1 p.m. at 12.1 feet and 9,950 cfs,” Wall wrote in an email Thursday.

“This indicates to me that even if the Cedar River does not crest as high as currently predicted, it will still be too high for the events just from the water that is already in the river at Austin, Minnesota.”

Wall had told the Press earlier in the week that river flows even in the high 3,000s cubic feet per second would prevent some events from being safely held.

Wall said that trends at the USGS gauge in Austin have consistently predicted conditions in Charles City about 29 hours in advance.

Based on the current readings, she said, “I’m incredibly bummed to be postponing, but the available river flow data indicates it is the decision to make.”

The whitewater slalom events are part of the Iowa Games, an annual statewide amateur sports competition. Charles City’s Riverfront Park course has hosted that portion of the Games since 2011 when the whitewater course opened.

The competition features whitewater slalom, downriver sprints, raft races, riverboard events, swim challenges and rescue throw rope contests on the Cedar River course, located just downstream from the Main Street bridge.

The event is open to the public and free for spectators.