Individuals can now help the Iowa Flood Center (IFC), based at the University of Iowa, make Iowa a safer place to enjoy the state's rivers and streams.

The Fund-a-Sensor program, an online fundraising campaign, allows interested Iowans to support the expansion of the IFC’s electronic stream-stage sensor network. Currently, the IFC has deployed 129 sensors, with a goal of adding 100 more. The IFC will deploy one additional sensor for every $3,000 received in donations. In addition, anyone can vote online to help select the location of the sensors—no gift is required to vote.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to help the Iowa Flood Center meet the need for more extensive monitoring of Iowa’s rivers and streams,” says IFC Director Witold Krajewski.

Gifts to the Fund-a-Sensor project will be made through the UI Foundation; gifts to the foundation qualify as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes, and are deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Krajewski adds, “The IFC stream-stage sensors provide valuable real-time information about water levels, allowing Iowans to be better informed and prepared for future flooding. We believe this extra measure of preparedness can save property, resources, and lives.”

Visit ifis.iowafloodcenter.org/ifis/fund to view the proposed expansion of the sensor network and learn more about the Fund-a-Sensor project.

The Iowa Flood Center is part of IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering, a unit of the UI College of Engineering. The IFC was created in 2009 in the aftermath of the historic 2008 Iowa floods and is supported by state appropriations to improve flood monitoring and prevention in Iowa.