Listen to this week’s radio piece here. It discusses the potential loss of some of Iowa’s crucial flood prevention tools. Read the transcript below:
Towns consumed by water and left in ruins – we’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again. Despite the threat of devastation that floods pose for Iowans, surveillance of these natural disasters could soon be jeopardized. Continue reading
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported yesterday that the United States Geological Survey could see budget cuts over the next two years that would jeapordize the future of local water gauges.
The Press-Citizen reports:
Funding could be at risk for stream gauges that Iowa officials and even the general public use to monitor river flow to predict flooding and areas in danger of inundation.
The U.S. Geological Survey could see a 10 percent budget cut each of the next two years under a federal budget proposal. In Iowa, that could mean the loss of six of 30 National Streamflow Information Program gauges. They won’t know for sure until a federal budget gets passed, but it is unclear when that will happen.
“There are some real possibilities we are going to lose some gauges unless someone steps up to the plate,” said Greg Nalley, chief of the hydraulic surveillance section in Iowa City. Continue reading
Iowa Environmental Focus 