Flood waters are going down and business is picking up in the QCA

QUAD CITIES, Iowa & Ill. (KWQC) - As the Mississippi River continues to come down, we are starting to see businesses pick back up.

City workers through out the QCA are beginning to take flood walls and hesco barriers down along the river fronts and getting the community back to normal.

Mayor of Rock Island Mike Thoms said preparing for the flood and building their wall was something they invested in a while back.

“The city and the Federal Government State invested the money a long time ago to be able to protect the downtown area.” Thoms said.

During the tough flood times for the QCA, Mayor Thoms said their wall got the job done and can be built and taken down in a day.

“This held up extremely well,” Thoms said. “I walked it, I personally walked it with the Corps of Engineers, we checked it out, it did not have any leaks, we had a great barrier. The staff does a great job, Public Works is a wonderful deal. It’s about a day to set up and a day to take down.”

Owner of Precision Collision on Marquette Street in Davenport, Todd Doss says it feels good the waters down and its nice customers can get to his shop much easier.

“It’s a good relief to have it go down,” Doss said. “Traffic can actually come by us now a lot easier, easier to get to us. Pretty soon I’ll have the sandbags down so I can walk in the office without going through the shop.”

After being closed for 3 weeks due to the flood, owner of The Diner on River Drive in Davenport, Tara Elkins says its great to be back and see all of their customers again.

“It feels amazing,” Elkins said. “Every single one of our regulars who comes in, they all give us big hugs, they’re so excited. Just seeing the support in the last few days, even though we’ve just been open since Saturday, makes my heart melt.”

Mayor of Rock Island Mike Thoms mentions with the Mississippi receding, its nice to see the people out here and enjoying Schwiebert Park.

“We have an urban park here,” Thoms said. “Ramp, beach type situation. People can sit and enjoy the birds, they can play in the water fountains, it just is a wonderful sight to see people down here and enjoying all the sites.”

The Mayor also mentioned it’s a great relief for the Quad Cities and it’s great to see the river back down in its banks and back to normal.

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