Iowa state climatologist: Infrastructure improvement needed for future flooding
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Iowa DNR officers help rescue people along northwest Iowa from flooding. Photo: Courtesy of Iowa DNR
Iowa needs to make changes to prepare for a future with worsening inclement weather, state climatologist Justin Glisan said on Iowa Press.
Why it matters: This year has demonstrated that our infrastructure is not sufficient to withstand the changed climate of today, let alone the impacts on the horizon.
Driving the news: 2024 has been a weather rollercoaster, starting with polar vortex conditions during the Iowa caucus, followed by an unseasonably warm February.
- An EF-4 tornado — one of the strongest-ever in western Iowa — killed four people in Greenfield in May.
- It was also the eight-wettest spring on record statewide. Spring flooding resulted in evacuations, helicopter rescues and water contamination from overflowing, untreated sewage.
State of play: Don't expect precipitation to drop anytime soon, Glisan said on Iowa Press.
- He expects a 10-20% increase in precipitation in the next several decades, resulting in more infrastructure strains if facility improvements are not addressed.
How it works: A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor.
- Instead of getting a quarter or half-inch of rain, we're getting 1-3 inches, and it's difficult for urban infrastructure to keep up.
Zoom in: Homeowners and cities needs to start accounting for the precipitation, Glisan warned.
- He pointed to the Rapidan Dam's partial failure in Minnesota as an example. And despite levee improvements in 2019, Rock Valley in western Iowa also dealt with 500 flooded homes this summer.
- He's been in talks with city managers of fast-growing communities like Ankeny and Altoona about how to improve their infrastructure for weather events.
The intrigue: Because of Iowa's location between the gargantuan Missouri and Mississippi rivers, the state's potential for flooding is considerable, Glisan says.
- The Midwest's 40- to 50-year-old infrastructure was "not meant for the precipitation that we're seeing," Glisan said on Iowa Press.
- "It must be addressed because we're only going to see more rainfall, we're only going to see more precipitation events."
The big picture: Flooding cost the U.S. economy an estimated $179 -$496 billion in 2023, according to new data from Democrats on the Senate Joint Economic Committee.
- And in Iowa, property owners are facing rising home insurance costs or struggling to get coverage because of recent severe storms.