What: Iowa Flood Center engineers install stream gauges on Black Hawk and Duck creeks in Davenport to better monitor water depth and flooding potential on city streets.

When: First installation at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at South Concord Street and John Fell Drive (Black Hawk Creek).

Second installation at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at Eastern Avenue and East 29th Street (Duck Creek).

Who: Engineers with the Iowa Flood Center, at the University of Iowa

Why: The stream-stage sensors will give Davenport city officials the information they need to track water-level rise on Black Hawk and Duck creeks at two junctions where flooding has occurred. When heavy rainfall occurs, the sensors will help city officials decide whether to close city streets and to inform the public in a timely fashion.

The gauges, which are solar powered and free of charge to the city, also will help Davenport to refine its stormwater management and storm-response plans. 

All information will be publicly available through the Iowa Flood Center at this link: http://ifis.iowafloodcenter.org/ifis/en/

Contact: Dan Ceynar, Iowa Flood Center engineer, 319-335-5180; Brian Stineman, city of Davenport natural resources manager, 563-888-2173; Jennifer Nahra, city of Davenport communications director, 563 326-6151

About the Iowa Flood Center: Established after the devastating 2008 floods in the state, the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa is engaged in flood-related projects in Iowa communities. IFC researchers have designed a cost-efficient sensor network to better monitor stream flow in the state; have developed a library of flood-inundation maps for several Iowa communities; and are working on a large project to develop new floodplain map for 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties.