Flash flooding has impacted Dubuque for years, and even this summer. Which is why professionals with the University of Iowa and the city of Dubuque are working together to create a system simulates a rainstorm that could flood more than 1,000 businesses and homes. Monday, researchers and engineers showed Dubuque city leaders what they could do to minimize damage next time.

A small-scale model built at the University of Iowa will soon play a big role in how Dubuque tackles future flooding. Project engineers unveiled a 1:7.5 scale model of a new pump station, designed specifically for Bee Branch Creek in Dubuque. The real version is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in August 2027.

The University of Iowa College of Engineering has announced the hiring of new faculty members some of whom begin this year. The remaining begin their appointments in the spring. Learn more about the new professors.

During a summer that’s featured high-profile nitrate spikes in Iowa waterways and water use restrictions for thousands of central Iowans, hundreds of people gathered in Des Moines this week to listen to discussion about the findings of a comprehensive water study that was commissioned by Polk County.

It was a full house at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium Monday night as local, county and state government representatives joined hundreds of community members for a panel discussion on the recently released Central Iowa water quality report. The discussion, hosted by the Harkin Institute, was the first official presentation of findings from the Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment (CISWRA) report, the most comprehensive analysis of water quality in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to date.

Several of the scientists who worked on a two-year assessment of central Iowa's rivers shared key findings in Des Moines Monday evening. Over 600 people registered for the event, which was hosted by the Harkin Institute and Polk County.

A group of researchers drew strong reactions from a large crowd in Des Moines as they reviewed their report on water quality in the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers. Jerald Schnorr, a long time professor in the University of Iowa’s College of Engineering, said data from 2000 U.S. rivers indicates these two Iowa rivers are in the top 1% when it comes to nitrate levels.

Nitrate levels in some of the state’s waterways are among the highest in the nation, as a recent study finds Iowa’s agriculture industry accounts for 80% of the nitrogen in central Iowa’s water. Called the Central Iowa Source Water Resource Assessment (CISWRA) report, the two-year study found the Des Moines and Raccoon River Watersheds are being threatened by nitrogen, bacteria from animal and human waste, pesticides, and other pollutants.

The Polk County Board of Supervisors released the Central Iowa Source Water Resource Assessment (CISWRA) at its meeting in July. The report — which was formally accepted by the supervisors last month — identifies agricultural pollution. Particularly, runoff from fertilizers and manure is one of the primary contributors to nitrate contamination.

Hundreds packed a Drake University auditorium for the first public presentation of a million-dollar Polk County-commissioned report linking Iowa's agricultural practices to widespread water pollution.