Flood Inundation Maps of the Iowa River

Project Personnel (University of Iowa): Dr. Nathan Young (Research Engineer), Andy Craig (Engineer II), Jesse Piotrowski (Graduate Student), Dan Gilles (Graduate Student)

The Iowa Flood Center is developing a series of hydrodynamic simulations of the Iowa River along a ten-mile segment of the river from the Coralville Dam to just south of Iowa City. This segment of the river was heavily impacted by the June 2008 floods, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Coralville, Iowa City, and on The University of Iowa campus. The hydrodynamic simulations will be used to develop a library of inundation maps along the Iowa River corridor, identifying flood footprints associated with river flow and stage data reported by the National Weather Service. These maps will allow communities and individuals to better understand their flood risk, to make more informed decisions about land use and flood mitigation alternatives, and to ensure safety and minimize damage during flood events.

Funding Sources for this Project:

• National Science Foundation: LiDAR survey in June 2008
• State of Iowa, Iowa Flood Center: Student and Research Engineer support
• City of Iowa City: Online distribution of flood data through the National Weather Service