Water Resources and Development Act Requests

Project Name: Cedar Rapids, IA Sanitary Sewer Infrastructure
City/Entity: City of Cedar Rapids
Amount: $6.4 million

Project Description: As a result of an aging sewer system, the City of Cedar Rapids experiences sanitary and storm sewer overloads.  This results in untreated wastewater being discharged into the Cedar River in order to avoid residential sewer back-ups, and interruptions and sewer back-ups for downtown businesses.  The project will include replacement and upgrade of problematic sanitary and storm sewer systems to avoid further environmental degradation during high rain events.

Project Name: Cedar Rapids, IA Water Supply Infrastructure
City/Entity: City of Cedar Rapids
Amount: $4.2 million

Project Description: In the summer of 2008, the City of Cedar Rapids experienced an unprecedented flood event, well beyond the estimated 500 year level, which nearly overwhelmed the city’s water supply.  During the worst of the flooding, only one water collecting well remained in service jeopardizing the city’s supply.  The project will include construction of two new collector wells at a sufficient elevation to protect the city’s water supply from future flood damage.

Project Name: Cedar River, Cedar Rapids, IA Flood Risk Management
City/Entity: City of Cedar Rapids
Amount: $500 million

Project Description: In the summer of 2008, the City of Cedar Rapids experienced an unprecedented flood event, well beyond the estimated 500 year level, which significantly overwhelmed existing flood protection measures.  The city estimates that over $2.4 billion in damage occurred as a result of this record flood.  The flood damaged a wide-range of infrastructure from residential properties to small and large businesses and critical city facilities among others.  The flood risk management measures will include a system of levees, floodwalls, and demountable walls along the Cedar River.  The community’s proposed plan will also include enhancements to water quality, ecosystem health, and greenspace recreational opportunities.  This request will be updated as the study progresses.

Project Name: Flint Creek Watershed Flood Damage Study
City/Entity: Des Moines County
Amount: $100,000

Project Description: Flint Creek is a navigable waterway and tributary of the Mississippi River.  During large rain events, stream bank degradation, channel erosion, and channel siltation are widespread. Large Rain and flood events have also caused significant damage to surrounding transportation infrastructure.  The study will examine options for reducing stream bank degradation, channel erosion, and Mississippi River channel siltation during high water and flood episodes.

Project Name: Waiver of Cost-Share Requirements for Critical Transportation Infrastructure
City/Entity: Multiple
Amount: N/A

Project Description: In the Water Resources and Development Act of 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was authorized to develop a plan to address water resource and related land resource problems in the upper Mississippi in the interest of flood damage reduction.  As part of this finalized report, the Corps recommended that a feasibility study be conducted to evaluate flood risk management options for transportation infrastructure such as bridges crossing the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.  The study would include analysis of approaches and bridge crossings in Burlington, Fort Madison, and Keokuk among others.  This request would waive the requirement for a non-Federal cost-share for the Corps to conduct these studies to examine options for flood damage reduction on critical transportation infrastructure in Iowa and Illinois.