Cedar River Feasibility Study
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, has completed its feasibility study for the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids. The purpose of the study was to determine if a federal project to build permanent floodwalls can be recommended as economically feasible and environmentally acceptable.
The feasibility study process typically takes up to 5 years to complete. The intensive public participation planning process that the City held in the months following the flood, which worked to create the City’s Preferred Flood Management System, was able to cut three years from the typical Corps timeline.
Social Effects & Economic Impacts of Flooding
The City has prepared its own Other Social Effects (OSE) report to be included with the Corps Cedar River Feasibility Study. Other Social Effects include the impacts that result in not having a flood management project on the local and regional economy and the impacts of flooding on socially vulnerable populations, including issues of environmental justice. In addition, the City has prepared a report that outlines the Regional Economic Impacts (RED) of not constructing a flood management system.
Need to Protect BOTH Sides of Cedar River
The Corps has recommended a plan that only provides protection to the east side of the Cedar River. Together, the OSE and RED reports outline the importance of providing a flood management system that will protect both sides of the river. The City has also submitted a letter to the Assistant Secretary to the Army for Civil Works requesting that an alignment that protects both sides of the river, similar to the City’s Preferred Flood Management Strategy, be considered as the Corps recommended plan.
Related Documents
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Cedar River Feasibility Study Presentation (from US Army Corps of Engineers)
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Preferred Flood Management System Presentation (from City of Cedar Rapids)
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Cedar River Corridor Redevelopment - Flood Mitigation Options - March 2009
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