"This event seems to be alligning itself much like the flooding we had in March 2011 did," said marina general manager J.P. Lindrud.

"We just have to hope we don't get as much rain as we did that year, and that the melting is as gradual as possible."

Lindrud said he can call owners of smaller watercraft and get them to take their boats away. But the bigger boats likely have to remain at the marina.

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He said the goal will be to get them out of the parking lot and into the water itself.

"If the water gets that high, there will be a current in the parking lot where they're parked," he said. "So it's safter to get them in the water where they can be tied up to a dock that floats up and down."

Lindrud too said he has heard from concerned boat owners.

"You try to calm them down and assure them we are doing all we can to prepare," he said. "That's really all you can do at this point."

Further downstream, Jeff Brand has already been fielding the calls, hearing from those with boats or mobile homes worried about what the predicted spring flooding may mean at Lake City Marina.

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The National Weather Service and others have said the snowiest winter in recent years has increased the risk of major spring flooding across Minnesota, particularly along the Red, Minnesota, Crow, St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers.

Some have even drawn comparisons to the massive flooding that occurred in 1965.

"All I can tell them is Mother Nature is going to do what she's going to do," said Brand, the marina administrator in Lake City. "We can't stop that. All we can do is try to prepare as best we can."

At Lake City Marina, which also operates a seasonal mobile home park on an adjacent point, that means making plans to move boats and mobile homes to dryer locations if the water reaches a certain point.

KSTP spring flooding coverage

"The flood stage at Lake City (on Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River) is 16 feet, and if we start to get to 17 or 18 feet, that's when we need to start making some moves," Brand said.

That would include moving a number of boats to an area closer to downtown, and getting the mobile homes off the point.

"We have 75 mobile homes out there," he said. "They're seasonal, so no one is in there now. But we have to find a place to put them. We haven't had to move them off since 2001."

Brand said he also expects to soon begin attempting to de-ice the harbor.

"If the water starts going up, and the ice is still in there, your docks can get caught," he said. "And that can lead to more damage."

The Associated Press contributed to this story