Work to Resume on Dubuque’s $28.2M Detention Basin Flood Gate, Pump Station Project

According to a recent news release from the city of Dubuque, construction on the 16th Street Detention Basin flood gate replacement and pump station project is set to resume. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources re-approved the permit needed to continue work after initially having it paused for roughly three months while additional environmental analysis was conducted.

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The pause began when the Iowa DNR required additional studies to determine whether dewatering during construction could draw contaminants from a 2020 fertilizer spill at the nearby Gavilon Grain site. The original environmental review for the project, completed in 2019, had resulted in a “Finding of No Significant Impact,” but the later spill prompted renewed scrutiny.

Following a review of recent water sampling and hydraulic modeling results, the Iowa DNR determined that further environmental analysis will not be necessary and has approved the City’s use of 10 dewatering wells needed for construction to continue. With the permit cleared, work is expected to restart soon. Lane closures and detours along Kerper Blvd. will return as construction ramps back up.

The $28.2 million project is part of the broader Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project and includes building a new stormwater pumping station and installing four new high-capacity pumps, with a plan to double the current pumping capability. The upgrade is designed to improve the system that moves stormwater from the Bee Branch Watershed to the Mississippi River and protect more than 1,300 nearby properties from flooding during high river levels.

City officials say the improvements will help the community better withstand increasingly intense rainstorms and build upon flood protections which are already in place. These earlier phases ensured the Bee Branch can handle storm events as severe as a 500-year flood.