Floods, Science, and Resiliency: The Case Study of the State of Iowa

The authors share their insights gained during ten years of activities of the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) at the University of Iowa. The IFC was established by the State of Iowa legislature in 2009 following devastating floods of 2008. The IFC, charged by the legislators to help Iowans prepare for future floods, initiated a number of science & technology-based undertakings. These included design and deployment of 250 autonomous stream and river gauges; development of state-wide inundation maps for wide range of flows; creation and operation of a real-time streamflow forecasting system; and invention of an interactive browser-based Iowa Flood Information System to disseminate flood-relevant information in a jargon-free way to the general public. The IFC has developed an extensive outreach program throughout the state and a strong partnership with state and federal agencies. All these activities led to securing $97M from US Housing and Urban Development's National Disaster Resiliency Competition for the state of Iowa to build a more flood-resilient Iowa. The IFC was critical in defining communities under the umbrella of Watershed Management Authorities. Despite unquestionable positive impact the IFC has imprinted on Iowa, numerous challenges remain. Changes in weather patterns bring heavy rains and flooding to the region, intensification of agriculture alters hydrologic cycle, and politics dominate rational decision making.