City of Dubuque Project in Final Phases

In Dubuque, one of the final phases of a decade-long flood protection project is now underway.

Construction began Tuesday on a major upgrade to the stormwater pumping station on Kerper Boulevard — a facility that hasn’t seen significant improvements in more than 50 years. It’s part of the Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project, which aims to protect homes and businesses from devastating flash floods. More than half of Dubuque’s population lives or works in the watershed. The upgraded station will double the amount of water it can pump every minute, reducing the risk of flooding during heavy storms. Project Manager Jim Bousley says there’s some redundancy built in so we don’t have to worry about neighborhoods flooding again… the channel is sized appropriately to handle storm events, so the public doesn’t have to worry about issues upstream with flooding from now on. Bousley also says It’s probably one of the last things as part of the Bee Branch to be completed… and one of the more important things, to be able to pump all that new water. Construction is expected to wrap up in July of 2027. For Dubuque residents, it’s a big step toward peace of mind when the storms roll in.