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LARGER CONTEXTUAL ISSUES PLAY A LARGE role in the flooding of Cedar Rapids, many of these issues are beyond the control of a single municiple entity. Geographically, Cedar Rapids sits at the bottom of the Middle Cedar subwatershed and receives water from the entire upland watershed. Upstream characteristics affect the flood levels in the city. Most of Iowa is currently covered by row crops, 90% of the entire state is used for agricultural purposes. This type of landscape is not conducive to absorbing water and as a whole can also contribute to an increased volume of flood waters and to the “flashiness” of floods.
WATERSHED CHARACTERISTICS
MIDDLE CEDAR WATERSHED
The weather patterns that contributed to the flood of 2008 included the fact that the 2007-2008 winter was particularly severe, with heavy snow cover persisting in many areas until early spring rains (Iowa Flood of 2008). The city then experienced heavy rain in April, which saturated the soils, leaving no place for water to go but immediately to the lakes and the river. Climate change also plays a role in increased flooding as the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation increases (EPA, 2013) and the frequency of floods under all scenarios of climate change increases (Jongman, 2013) cities on rivers need to prepare for bigger, more costly floods. Issues such as these need to be addressed at the watershed level to have any significant impact on a city’s response to flooding. A new paradigm of river management/relationship that accounts for these bigger flood events needs to be envisioned.
Hillshade, land cover and annual precipitation data from USGS.gov.
Cedar Rapids sits at the bottom of the Middle Cedar Watershed and receives water from the entire upstream area. Upstream development patterns can affect flooding in the city.