As outdoor temperatures rise, so do water levels and the possibility of flooding.

During each spring that follows a winter of heavy snowfall, the Red Cedar River is in danger of flooding and causing future issues.

According to a National Weather Service hydrograph, the river was measured at 6.07 feet at 9 p.m. on March 15.

Bob Dukeshere, a NWS meteorologist, said reaching above six feet is considered an “action” level.

“When it starts spilling out of its banks, we issue an advisory,” Dukeshere said.

Anything above seven feet is minor flooding, above 10 feet is moderate and above 13 feet is major.

Just last May, the river crested its banks at 7.33 feet, flooding much of the DeMartin Soccer Stadium and only portions of the McClane Baseball Stadium and the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden. The year before, it was half a foot higher, rendering parts of the river trail totally impassable.

Scott Gardner, an engineer with Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, said the average height of the river is in between four and five feet.

Jo Anne Latimore, a specialist in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, said a little flooding can be good for the river – it is part of the river’s natural process.

“Under natural circumstance, it’s not such a bad thing but if it happens more frequently, due to development or stronger precipitation that might be linked to climate change, the life in the stream is really impacted negatively,” Latimore said.

She said issues with erosion can also occur when the water levels rise and fall too quickly, especially because flood waters contain a significant amount of energy.

At one point, there were trees and some shrubbery behind Shaw Hall and near the River Trail – but those have since disappeared.

Gardner said this was part of a riverbank enhancement project last year that was meant to clean up the area and remove any invasive species.

He said clearing the area can actually help during flood situations because it allows the water to flow more freely instead of being obstructed. More development can bring increased run-off into the river, but Gardner said IPF does what they can to prevent a negative impact.

“We do try to minimize the amount of salt that we use and minimize the environmental effect,” Gardner said. “But we are going to get run off from what’s on the ground.”

When it comes to spring flooding, Dukeshere said there are two components at play.

One is the impact of the snowpack, or snow that has fallen over the course of winter, and the second is a big rain event.

Dukeshere said the snowpack is primarily gone and there are no traces of heavy precipitation in the near future.

“A couple of weeks ago we were a little worried ... We saw a rise and it’s already dropping,” Dukeshere said.