Watersheds & Rivers

  • Understanding Iowa’s Rivers

    IIHR — a century of river-related research

    Colorful reflections of the Des Moines skyline on the river at night

  • Research Vessels

    Equipped with sophisticated instrumentation
    for sediment sampling, coring, bathymetry, and more

    One of IIHR's instrumented research boats in the Mississippi River

  • Iowa Flood Center

    Working to help Iowans prepare for flooding with innovative tools and reliable information

    Aerial view of a flooded small Iowa town

  • Iowa Watershed Approach

    Building a more flood-resilient Iowa

    Pretty farmstead with pond and red barn
1234

Watersheds & Rivers

The study of rivers and watersheds has been a primary area of research at IIHR since the institute’s founding more than a century ago. From early modeling efforts that helped support the creation of the nine-foot navigation channel in the Mississippi River to today’s Iowa Watershed Approach, IIHR researchers have been at the forefront of riverine research.

Did You Know?

IIHR’s fieldwork capabilities support our research with accurate data on river flow rates, velocities, depths, water quality, and more.

Other capabilities include:

  • Single-beam and multi-beam bathymetric surveys
  • Sediment sampling and coring with an onboard drilling rig
  • Large-scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV)
  • Development and deployment of flood-related instrumentation
  • A man in waders reaches down into the Mississippi River water while a barge moves by in the background.
A group of staff and students outside the main entrance to IIHR

Iowa Flood Center

The Iowa Flood Center is helping build a more flood-resilient Iowa with science-based information and research.

Muddy brown water flows through an Iowa river

Iowa Watershed Approach

The Iowa Watershed Approach offers a vision for Iowa’s future, building a watershed-based community to achieve proactive goals, including flood reduction and mitigation and improved water quality.