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Flood Mitigation

Clean Water, Flood Mitigation, Watershed Management Authority

Between Sunday May 11th and Monday May 12th, 2014, the Turkey River Watershed received on average 2.43 inches of rainfall. Two Iowa Flood Center rain gauges placed in  the watershed recorded the 2.55 and 2.31 inches of rainfall(rain gauge data can be accessed here).  Attached is a series of pictures that contrasts how agricultural lands in the Turkey River Watershed received and responded to the rain that fell over that 48 hour period.  … Read more ›

Clean Water, Flood Mitigation

The City of Monona, a member of the Turkey River Watershed Management Authority, has been approved to move forward with a project to redirect storm water runoff associated with the Monona City Aquatic Center. The funding was secured through a new program related to Iowa’s State Revolving Fund (SRF).  Monona applied to SRF in July of 2013 and received final approval in October. … Read more ›

Flood Mitigation, Watershed Management Authority

GUNDER —Ron McCartney wears several hats with the Turkey River Watershed Management Authority. He is WMA secretary/treasurer, a Clayton County supervisor, and he farms land impacted by Turkey River flooding.

“This is completely different than anything we’ve done in the past,” said McCartney. “We’ve had a lot of water quality projects in this area, but this is the first time someone is taking a shot to see if it’s possible to affect water flow.… Read more ›

Flood Mitigation, Watershed Management Authority

The Turkey River Watershed Management Authority is working on a five-year pilot demonstration project with IIHR – Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa and the Iowa Flood Center.

The project’s goal is to create state-of-the-art hydrological modeling of the water flowing through the Turkey River Watershed, said Lora Friest, executive director of Northeast Iowa RC&D in Postville.

The Iowa Flood Center has put its own stream stage sensors at 11 locations in the watershed and at other locations.… Read more ›

Flood Mitigation, Watershed Management Authority

The Turkey River Watershed Management Authority met on March 28th at the YMCA in Postville. Approximately 60 attendees, including the TRWMA Board, listened to presentations given by NRCS Iowa State Conservationist, Jay Mar and Larry Weber, the Director of IIHR Hydroscience and Engineering and Iowa Flood Center.

Before the presentations, the TRWMA Board accepted a recommendation from the TRWMA Executive Committee and voted unanimously to recommend the Iowa Flood Center select Otter Creek in Fayette County for modeling.… Read more ›

Flood Mitigation

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration plans to collect Iowa precipitation data this spring that could launch a new era of timely and accurate flood predictions. The data will help scientists understand how satellite radar images relate to actual rainfall so they can more accurately predict rainfall amounts and flood events, said Vitold Krajewski, director of the Iowa Flood Center, which is partnering with NASA on the Iowa Flood Study project. Sara Steussy, a research support coordinator at the flood center, said most of the instruments will be deployed in a line running roughly from Waterloo to Iowa City, with the most powerful portable radar unit situated southwest of Waterloo. That radar unit will fill a gap in coverage of the four National Weather Service radars operating in Iowa, Petersen said. A second cluster of about 20 rain gauges with soil moisture sensors and two smaller portable radars will be deployed in the Turkey River Valley, Steussy said.
Flood Mitigation

The Iowa Flood Center has announced that the Soap and Chequest Creek, Turkey River, and Upper Cedar River watersheds will each receive a $1.5 million grant for construction of watershed improvement projects to support flood mitigation, such as farm ponds, wetlands, and floodplain easements in a targeted area of the watershed. The grant, provided with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is part of the Iowa Watersheds Project, an effort of the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa.… Read more ›

Clean Water, Flood Mitigation, Watershed Management Authority

Innovative research on northeast Iowa’s Turkey River may herald a breakthrough in state efforts to mitigate future flood damage.

“This really is the first time that hydro modeling has been done in advance of project implementation to get the highest value for the investment,” said Larry Weber, director of IIHR — Hydroscience & Engineering, the parent organization of the Iowa Flood Center.… Read more ›