City crews pumped muddy water from a lower parking at the city-owned 200 Mill Building Thursday morning that simply had nowhere to go.

The building is one site where the city pays particular attention when the Cedar River is running extremely high, like it has been the last two days.

The crew were pumping the water out of the building’s parking lot and over the retaining wall next to the Cedar River. The pool formed after water from the overflowing river pushed through the drain pipe and into the drain in the 200 Mill Building’s parking lot.

“We’re just trying to get the water out of here and back over the wall and not damage the inside of the building,” Kamphaus said.

The building’s manager said the building’s interior wasn’t damaged by the parking-lot overflow.

Kamphaus and the other workers were trying to pump the water into the soil on the river’s banks.

“You can’t put it back in the river,” said Parks Director Leslie Betlach.

The crew had been working outside the 200 Mill Building since about 7:30 a.m. this morning. Some of the men had been sandbagging at Carco Theatre before that.

“We’ve been having fun like this all morning,” Kamphaus said.