After a weekend full of severe thunderstorms and flooding warnings throughout Siouxland, the weather on Monday continued to deliver challenging conditions through the region.
Several places had downpours with 3-plus inches in single rain events on Saturday and Sunday, including with Lake Park, Iowa, having 3.4 inches, and Ponca, Nebraska, 3.1 inches. The Little Sioux River was out of its banks through Spencer, Iowa, flooding parkland on Sunday.
The forecast shows the potential for many counties to get a combined two to three more inches of rain by Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported. Siouxlanders are cautioned to be on watch for flash flooding.
Relatedly, heavy rainfall and power outages in Northwest Iowa led to multiple wastewater discharges in the Iowa Great Lakes area Monday morning.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources office in Spencer was notified early Monday of a wastewater bypass occurring at a lift station just south of Manhattan Point on the west side of West Lake Okoboji.
The Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District pumped down the lift station and hauled as much wastewater as possible to the treatment plant to minimize the bypass. Officials estimated that about 10 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into the lake per minute. All drinking water systems and a nearby resort were notified, as well as residents in the vicinity of the bypass. Area officials report the discharge ended after several hours about noon.
Another wastewater discharge took place near the Francis site on East Lake Okoboji.
In other news, a new poll shows former president Donald Trump in a strong position to win Iowa in the November election.
The Iowa Poll released by The Des Moines Register showed much support for Trump, in spite of his conviction on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments made to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election. Trump, a Republican, leads Democratic President Joe Biden in Iowa, leading 50 percent to 32 percent.
A decade ago, Iowa was a fairly split purple state politically, but over recent election cycles its voters are much more substantively supporting Republicans.
*Additionally, city of Sioux City officials are touting a new recycling effort that has pulled in 6.6 tons of items over nine weeks.
As a means to encourage more recycling, the city placed several more big recycling units in the high pedestrian traffic area of downtown. And, those units are made to be eye-catching as well, so Sioux City Artist Jessica Hammond added her bright, colorful spin on eight recycling dumpsters placed in downtown spots in early April.
Hammond, who operates Brutal Doodles, said recycling is important to her, since too many people throw away items that are better recycled.
The project to bolster recycling particularly in downtown Sioux City is a collaborative effort of Downtown Partners, the City of Sioux City, the Environmental Advisory Board, and Gill Hauling.
The recycling containers are available for businesses and residents to use as an alternate location to recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard materials.
* Avian flu has been detected in cattle of three dairy herds in Northwest Iowa since Friday, which increases the total number of affected herds in Iowa this month to six.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture on Monday announced the sixth dairy herd was located in Sioux County, on the heels of one other in Sioux County and one in Plymouth County that had been cited on Friday. Three of the six have been in Sioux County.
The first case of bird flu was found in Sioux County on a poultry farm on May 28, and then a second case was found a few days later in Cherokee County.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations as well as lactating dairy cattle. The Iowa Department of Agriculture is strongly encouraging Iowa poultry producers and dairy farmers to bolster their biosecurity practices and protocols to protect their flocks and herds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said bird flu has likely been transmitted by veterinarians and workers who labor at multiple farms.
