Great Ape Trust flooding, a lot of water but little trouble

Des Moines, Iowa – July 2, 2010 – If flooding projections hold true, this week’s flooding on the Great Ape Trust campus will bring more inconvenience than damage to the scientific research facility in southeast Des Moines.  Floodwaters on the morning of July 2 covered the access road from Great Ape Trust’s front gate to the bonobo and orangutan laboratories. A reduced staff is on duty the next several days and will remain in the ape homes around the clock.  A motorboat is available in case of an emergency.

“What we’re seeing today on our campus is what we expected and what we prepared for,” said William M. Fields, director of scientific research at Great Ape Trust. “The apes and staff are safe, the orangutan and bonobo homes are well supplied and all critical technology and equipment are now off-site.”

This is the second time in two years that the campus of Great Ape Trust has been flooded. Levels this week, however, aren’t expected to reach those of the devastating record Floods of 2008 that resulted in $1.25 million in damage and the loss of four administration trailers.  When floodwaters crest, they should be four to five feet below the 2008 levels when water rose three feet inside the ape buildings.

Though the bonobo and orangutan laboratories were built one foot above Floods of 1993 levels, the floodwaters in 2008 on and near the Great Ape Trust campus rose significantly higher than that. The four-lane U.S. Highway 65/69 beltway that is downstream from Great Ape Trust was built after the Floods of ’93 and has compounded flooding in that area. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Iowa Department of Transportation are working to address that issue.