Heavy rains and flooding in northern Iowa, USA are forcing the closure of state parks in the region.
Meanwhile, state officials are warning residents throughout that part of the state that their water may be contaminated after floods overwhelmed wastewater treatment systems.
Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says that George Wyth State Park in Waterloo will be forced to close as the river running through it is predicted to overspill its banks.
Days of relentless rainfall have inundated the watersheds of northern Iowa. Swelling rivers are flooding entire towns. Thousands of Iowans have been forced to evacuate as a result.
Authorities are warning that it could be days or weeks before recreation conditions return to normal at parks impacted by the floods.
“Due to heavy rainfall rivers and lakes in northern Iowa are unsafe for swimming or boating,” Iowa’s DNR says. “Fast currents, floating debris, hidden obstacles, and the potential of bacteria make these areas dangerous.”
Starting Monday afternoon, George Wyth State Park will be closed to the public, DNR announced.
Officials say they will also likely be forced to close most if not all of Dolliver Memorial State Park near Lehigh and the Wilson Island Recreation Area which is “predicted to be flooded by the rising Missouri River later in the week.”
The flooding has been widespread, covering northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and southeastern South Dakota. The National Weather Service has put that entire region under both a flood advisory and a heat advisory.
Flooding and high temperatures have been pummeling the region all weekend.
Photo credit: TheCatalyst31, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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