The University of Iowa Flood Center received $1 million through federal Community Project Funding. The grant funding will expand services like flood and drought monitoring, watershed management, and forecasting in Eastern Iowa. 

The grant will also fund 30 new hydrostations at the Iowa Flood Center. Hydrostations monitor a variety of data related to flooding such as water levels, soil moisture, rainfall, and temperature. The data is publicly available through the Iowa Flood Information System.

The Iowa Flood Center is expecting to deploy the Eastern Iowa hydrostation network by the spring of 2024. 

Additionally, the Iowa Flood Center will develop a hydrologic assessment and online visualization system for watersheds, which are areas of land where water runoff and snowmelt drain into another body of water. Stream sensors, hydrostations, and watershed development will also be added at the Lower Cedar River and the Maquoketa River.

Community Project Funding is projected to build off the Iowa Flood Center’s $97 million Iowa Watershed Approach program, which aims to reduce flood risks and improve water quality. The watershed approach program was able to create nearly 800 structures across Iowa to reduce floods and strengthen water quality.

Community Project Funding uses federal funds directed toward eligible entities, which include states, local governments, public and non-profit universities, as well as certain eligible non-profit organizations. 

Each member of Congress is able to submit 15 eligible projects to receive funding under Community Project Funding. The funding itself was pushed for by U.S. Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.