Flood protectionU Iowa to spend $4 million on flood protection
Facing an Iowa River which breaches its banks and advances on nearby buildings and roadsin Iowa City, the University of Iowa(UI) plans to spend as much as $4 million to secure its property. The figure covers the cost of setting up and taking down HESCO barriers near vulnerable buildings. “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.
Facing an Iowa River which breaches its banks and advances on nearby buildings and roadsin Iowa City, the University of Iowa (UI) plans to spend as much as $4 million to secure its property. The figure covers the cost of setting up and taking down HESCO barriers near vulnerable buildings, including the Iowa Memorial Union and the campus’s water and power plants. Campus officials also plan to place sandbags near the water and power plants, and use a portion of the funds to plug and pump storm sewers. “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.
In 2013, UI incurred $3.3 million in flood mitigation costs when it used seven linear miles of HESCO barriers to protect against similar flood conditions. “It’s an investment that anyone would make to try to protect their property,” said Brennan.
The $4 million cost estimate could be less or more depending on how intense flood conditions get, but officials are prepared to spend more because sand used in 2013 to fill barriers came from existing construction at the campus’s Hancher Auditorium. “That was free sand,” Brennan said. “This year we are paying for sand.”
According to Emergency Management, UI suffered more than $717 million in damages during the 2008 flood that devastated many campus buildings and infrastructure. Flood mitigation efforts included 1.2 million sandbags and, according to Brennan, total emergency protective measures cost $14 million. HESCO barriers being used this year will protect an Iowa River flow of 40,000 cubic feet per second. “That is close to the 2008 flood,” Brennan said. “So this really is giving us a high level of assurance that we can withstand almost anything Mother Nature throws at us.”
Should the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declare a state of emergency for the UI area, the university can seek federal assistance to cover its costs, if not, the $4 million spent on protective measures will be covered by general fund dollars and by charging some of the expense to the specific assets the measures are meant to protect - such as the water and power plants. UI’s property and casualty policy to help cover flood-related damages has a $5 million deductible, meaning it would not be used if costs remain around the $4 million mark.
