Disaster Preparedness & Recovery : University of Iowa Flood Protection Expected to Cost $4 Million

With the Iowa River in Iowa City breaching its banks, the university is preparing to keep its property safe.

Vanessa Miller, The Gazette | July 7, 2014

With the Iowa River in Iowa City breaching its banks and encroaching on nearby buildings, paths, and roads, the University of Iowa is preparing to spend as much as $4 million to keep its property safe.

That total covers the putting up and taking down of HESCO barriers near Mayflower Residence Hall, the Iowa Memorial Union, its water and power plants, and along the east and west river banks.

It also includes sandbagging near the water and power plants, clearing of construction materials by the Iowa Memorial Union, plugging and pumping of storm sewers, and precautions in underground steam system tunnels.

“It’s worth it to spend $4 million to prevent tens of millions of dollars in damage and all the disruption that could be caused for students,” said UI spokesman Joseph Brennan.

“It’s an investment that anyone would make to try to protect their property.”

But, Brennan said, the $4 million cost estimate is rough, and the end total could be less or more depending on how bad flood conditions actually get.

Last year, when the UI used seven linear miles of HESCO barriers to protect against similar flood conditions, it incurred $3.3 million in flood mitigation costs.

So far this year, according to Brennan, the UI has put up only a third of the barriers it did last year.

But officials are preparing to spend more in case river conditions escalate and because the sand used last year to fill the barriers came from the Hancher Auditorium construction project.

“That was free sand,” Brennan said. “This year we are paying for sand.”

During the 2008 flood, which devastated many UI buildings and infrastructure and caused $717 million in damage, UI mitigation efforts included 1.2 million sandbags, according to Brennan.

Those emergency protective measures cost $14 million, he said.

The level of HESCO barriers being used this year will protect against an Iowa River flow of 40,000 cubic feet per second, Brennan said.

“That is close to the 2008 flood,” he said. “So this really is giving us a high level of assurance that we can withstand almost anything Mother Nature throws at us.”

If the Federal Emergency Management Agency declares a state of emergency for the area, Brennan said, the UI can seek federal assistance in covering its costs.

If not, the UI will cover the $4 million with general fund dollars and by allocating some of the expense to the specific enterprises it’s protecting — such as the power plant.

The UI has multiple insurance policies to help cover flood-related damages.

But its property and casualty policy has a $5 million deductible, meaning it wouldn’t be triggered if costs stay around the $4 million mark.

©2014 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/