This year, several member institutes of the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) attended the One Water Summit in Austin, Texas as a delegation. At the end of the conference, each delegation provided a commitment to action for what goals they seek to achieve over the next year.
NIWR’s commitment to action was delivered by Melissa Miller, Associate Director for the Iowa Water Center (see image above).
We ask Craig Just, Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa, the question: What is a flood resiliency action plan?
Continue reading[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTylIu9wChY]
We ask Antonio Arenas, Assistant Research Scientist at the Iowa Flood Center and IIHR Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa, the question: How can we alleviate flooding in Iowa?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFuC_r2qneY]
We ask Joe Otto, PhD Candidate at the University of Oklahoma: what is environmental drainage?
If you are an educator, policymaker, journalist, or a scientist seeking partners on a project, the Iowa Water Center has a directory of water resource specialists and scientists who can provide answers to all your water resource questions.
Continue readingBy Joe Otto, Communications Specialist at the Iowa Water Center
The City Spotlight series highlights ongoing efforts by Iowans living in cities to address water issues impacting their neighborhoods.
2019 will be a big year for flood control planning in downtown Cedar Rapids. The city’s budget for the 2020 fiscal year includes $35 to $40 million-dollars for flood protection – nearly double the amount of last year. With the 2020 fiscal year beginning on July 1 of this year, officials are actively exploring various options and drawing up plans. On top of the significant jump in local funding is an infusion of federal dollars amounting to $76 million in grants and $41 million in low-interest loans.
Already underway is the construction of a $14.2 million-dollar floodwall and pump station to protect the Quaker Oats factory, which sits downtown on the banks of the Cedar. This project was started during the previous fiscal year and is the largest and most expensive currently underway. Because rail access is crucial to the manufacturing facility, the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad will be realigned and outfitted with a floodgate. The railroad floodgate was partially funded by a grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The city’s goal is to withstand another Flood of 2008. At the present, the city prepares for floods by setting up temporary defenses: movable barriers and portable pumping stations. The long-term vision is to integrate these defenses into a more permanent system. Additional pumps at existing pumping stations would reduce the city’s reliance on portable pumps, and enable city staff to focus on other tasks during times of emergency.
Future plans include large, rolling floodgates along major streets – similar to that constructed near Birdland Park and Guthrie Ave. in downtown Des Moines after the Floods of 1993. A floodgate on 16th Ave where it spans the Cedar River would effectively link two sections of concrete wall on either side of the bridge. In the event of a flood, the gate would roll into place and seal up a vulnerable breach in the city’s flood defenses.
But the city is also committed to keeping the Cedar River connected to the downtown area. The 8th Avenue bridge is slated for replacement, which may also include pump stations, restrooms for the city’s outdoor amphitheater, a scenic overlook of the city’s riverscape, or possibly a vendor space for restaurants or shops. Upgrades to a recreational trail along the Sinclair Levee will include more benches and monuments honoring local historical figures. The city’s flood control manager, Rob Davis, has stated that the city intends to stick to its master plan, “which is not to wall us off from the river.” By incorporating economic and recreational development of the riverfront area into its flood protection planning, the city believes interaction with the Cedar River will remain a valuable attraction, despite the ongoing struggle to control its more uncontrollable elements.
Cedar Rapids has successfully directed state and federal funding streams into their downtown flood protection plans. Part of their success hinges on the city’s use of bonding and property taxes to raise matching funds from local sources – often a requirement for high-dollar, competitive grant programs. In 2018 the City Council approved a $264 million-dollar bonding plan, spread out over ten years, to raise the necessary local funds. The plan involves property tax raises of about 22 cents per year. As reported by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the sale of these bonds will be subject to a future vote by the City Council.
Anyone interested in commenting on the planning process as it moves forward is encouraged to attend regular City Council meetings. The City Council also intends to gather public input by scheduling public hearings, which residents are also encouraged to attend. For more information contact the City Manager’s office at 319-286-5051 or email at citymanager@cedar-rapids.org.
Documentation of the city’s Stormwater Master Plan is available on the city’s website at http://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_government/departments_g_-_v/public_works/stormwater_master_plan.php#content
Joe Otto is the Communications Specialist for the Iowa Water Center. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma, where he is writing a dissertation on the history of drainage in Iowa.
Do you live in a city facing a pressing water management issue? Let the Iowa Water Center put a spotlight on it. Contact jwotto@iastate.edu for more information.
Works Cited:
Cedar Rapids Gazette, January 5, 2019, “Cedar Rapids flood system takes leap forward in 2019: Now with federal aid, city doubles down on making progress.”
Accessed 1-8-2019. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/cedar-rapids-flood-protection-government-funding-20190105
“Stormwater Master Plan,” City of Cedar Rapids. Accessed 1-8-2019. http://www.cedar-rapids.org/local_government/departments_g_-_v/public_works/stormwater_master_plan.php#content
09.18.2018 – Ames, Iowa – The Iowa Water Center Graduate Student Research Competition is now open for graduate students located at accredited institutions in Iowa.
Funding of up to $5,000 for one year is available for a maximum of three graduate students nearing completion of their program of study. This program allows for students to complete additional research objectives or products beyond the scope of their current water related funded project. Iowa Water Center staff is available to assist students in their submissions.
Graduate students who study any topic related to water resources management are eligible to apply for this grant. Topics include but are not limited to water quality, water quantity, and the human dimensions of water resources management in Iowa. A repository of previously funded projects can be found here.
Research proposals must follow RFP guidelines and can be submitted to the Iowa Water Center via email (send to hbates@iastate.edu). Graduate students must submit their intention to submit a proposal by November 9, 2018 by 5PM Central Time.
Proposals are due November 26, 2018 by 5PM Central Time. Late proposals will not be accepted. More information regarding this opportunity can be found at the Iowa Water Center website.
The Iowa Water Center will not host a seed grant competition for faculty in 2019.
The Iowa Water Center: The Iowa Water Center is a federally funded organization, part of the National Institutes for Water Resources. Located on the Iowa State University campus, it is one of 54 institutes located throughout the United States and U.S territories. The purpose of the Iowa Water Center is to identify water-related research needs, provide outreach and education opportunities, and disseminate information about Iowa’s water resources to the public to form better policies and everyday practices.
Media Contact: Hanna Bates, Iowa Water Center (hbates@iastate.edu)
Submitted by Solomon Worlds, Iowa Water Center Science Communication Intern
Note: This post, and the referenced Riessen article, was written prior to the release of the Executive Order issues on WOTUS. The EO can be found here.
Hello Readership,
Recently, there has been a great deal of commotion around a recurring Supreme Court case that has yet to be ruled on. This legal battle is just another in the long line of battles over a famous piece of legislation we know as the Clean Water Act (CWA). This most recent battle is over the “Waters of the US rule” (WOTUS) definition that was made by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers in June of 2015. Immediately after the decision was made, many legislators and officials (including our Iowa governor and two federal senators) voiced their opposition.
Some say that the federal government is overstepping their bounds. They say the federal government does not have jurisdiction over some of the WOTUS and that the June 2015 definition is either too broad or too vague. However, is there real constitutional precedent to halt the federal government’s involvement? What is actually in the CWA? Since this fight has made it to back the Supreme Court, what is different? And, what were the decisions of previous hearings? What will be the outcome of this rendition?
Jack Riessen, P.E., retired Iowa Department of Natural Resources employee and former advisory board member for the Iowa Water Center, wrote a short informative report in January 2017 that answers all of my above questions and probably a few others that you may have thought of. His well-written article carefully gives a brief history of the CWA fight by outlining the events of the past that have gotten us to where we are now. This enlightening review is written to appeal to those who do and those who do not know a lot about water, making it accessible for everyone. Click here to read Riessen’s full piece.
Flow forward my friends,
Solomon Furious Worlds
P.S.: In my first post, I promised more information on my name. My father wanted my middle name to start with an “F.” It was almost “Francis,” but there was a character from a popular 1991 film featured a character whose name was “Jason ‘Furious’ Styles.”
Alert Iowa is a statewide mass notification and emergency messaging system. The system can be used by state and local authorities to quickly disseminate emergency information to residents in counties that utilize the system. The system is available, free of charge, to all counties. Eighty-four of Iowa’s 99 counties are using the Alert Iowa system.
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Iowa State University’s 13 Research and Demonstration Farms around the state have served for decades as models of agricultural and scientific progress for Iowa’s farmers and landowners.
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