Anthony Lamoreux, a civil and environmental engineering (CEE) master’s student and graduate research assistant at IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering (IIHR), explores how streambank vegetation impacts river and stream flow, contributing to a measure labeled as “roughness”. The research improves the accuracy of streamflow predictions by correcting for seasonal stream roughness variation, informing and improving overall flood forecasting.

If states fully commit to the idea, they could build a flood warning system like the Iowa Flood Information System, which is considered one of the best in the country. After a record-breaking 2008 flood, the state legislature set aside about $1.2 million a year for the University of Iowa to develop a statewide flood monitoring system. University scientists deployed nearly 300 low-cost stream and river gauges on unwatched waterways. They combined those observations with USGS river gauges, radar data on rainfall and local hydrologic models that predict how water will move through Iowa’s soil, streams and cement. Eventually, they created an online map that gives visitors a real-time look at water levels in rivers across the state and forecasts for future flooding that update every few minutes.

Over the course of the Iowa Geological Survey’s life at the University of Iowa, it has worked on nearly 200 research projects related to the state’s geology and water resources. The survey came to the UI in 2014 after initially living as a bureau within the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Since then, it has worked on 186 projects that have taken its researchers to nearly every county in the state.

As the nitrate removal facility at Des Moines Water Works continues to be in operation, Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) is sharing its plan to build and expand operations in the future.

Residents of Lake Ridge Estates, a mobile home park just south of Iowa City, last week found a 24-pack of bottled water and a notice at their front doors that their water has tested high for both manganese and arsenic.

A ban on watering lawns has been issued in the Des Moines metro area for the first time to avoid a potential water crisis due to high concentrations of nitrates in local rivers.

A group of passionate watershed conservationists, engineers, farmers, and community members from Iowa and Wisconsin connected in Postville, Iowa for an informational exchange around innovative watershed management strategies.   

The IFC provides technical support to many local, state, and federal partners through flood monitoring and forecasting, inundation mapping, mitigation, and education and outreach, helping Iowans understand and reduce their current and future flood risks.

5th graders from Muscatine explore IIHR's unique research facility on the Mississippi River for a day of exploration and outdoor learning.

When Kaleb Young started studying at the University of Iowa, he wanted to become a doctor. And while he’ll gain that title, it will not be an MD like he originally planned but a PhD with a focus in flood mitigation.