Institute for Water Resources

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. The US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Institute for Water Resources, in conjunction with its Rock Island District, recently released a report entitled Cedar Rapids Flood Risk Management: A Case Study in Disaster Recovery. The report provides an overview and details of post-flood recovery actions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa following devastating flooding of the Cedar River in June 2008. It also includes observations and lessons regarding U.S. flood risk management drawn from the city’s recovery efforts. In June 2008, Cedar Rapids experienced record flooding of the Cedar River. The river crested at nearly 20 feet above local flood stage and devastated the city's downtown area, thousands of residential properties, and much of the city’s water supply and wastewater treatment infrastructure. The flood and Cedar Rapids’ losses were national-level news for several weeks. Total losses were estimated at $5.4 billion and the event was Iowa’s largest natural disaster.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources just released a new report, Advances in Conservation Ecology: Paradigm Shifts of Consequence for USACE Environmental Planning, Management and Conservation Cooperation. This report presents a digest of information on recent advances in ecological science and management for USACE ecologists and eco-managers. Advances in conservation ecology are changing the way federal agencies in the United States plan, manage and cooperate to achieve their missions. These advances have contributed to major changes in the widely accepted working concepts—or paradigms—that underlie widely held assumptions of ecological management. Many of these paradigm shifts occurred since USACE environmental policy and technical guidance was written and are unevenly understood among ecological managers (eco-managers). The concept of ecosystem management emerged in the 1990s as an attractive alternative to species-based management, but, in its earlier incarnations in the 1990s, ecosystem management tended to rely on assumptions of long-term ecological stability and integrity that are now largely dismissed as unrealistic by ecologists and leading eco-managers in large part because of increasing awareness of past and potential climate-change effects.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. Civil and Mechanical Engineering Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) gathered at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Headquarters on July 30 as part of a larger five-day program across the east coast to expose them to the USACE mission. The cadets were provided an opportunity to learn about the key components of the USACE’s Military and Civil Works Programs. One of the objectives of the visit was to provide an overview on the wide range of subjects related to executing the USACE mission and serving its customers. The Institute for Water Resources (IWR) was invited to participate in the Washington D.C. morning session to cover subjects in U.S. Water Resources Development, USACE Planning Activities, and Public Participation and Collaboration. Dr. Joe Manous, IWR Director, gave an insightful perspective of the Nation’s needs related to water resources and how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has and continues to support those requirements. His discussion covered water uses, the Federal role, the evolution of environmental policies, and 20th century water resources investments. The presentations emphasized the importance of economic development as the driving factor in shaping U.S. water resources development since the founding of the United States. This interactive discussion provided the cadets a strategic context from which to view the important work the USACE is doing today.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. The USACE and the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) held a series of technical exchange meetings and site visits in May of this year. This was the thirteenth exchange between the two organizations and this year’s hosts were USACE Headquarters, the Institute for Water Resources, and the Jacksonville District. The purpose was to “set forth particular conditions to facilitate the cooperation and coordination of the exchange of scientific and technological information concerning water resources management of mutual interest of the Parties, and to provide a framework for cooperation between Parties in these fields for civilian purposes.” (Implementation Agreement, 17 November 2015). The theme of this year’s exchange was Disaster Management, and the fourteen member delegation from Japan met at USACE Headquarters on the first day. The group was welcomed by Mr. James Dalton, USACE Director of Civil Works. The full-day agenda included topics and speakers such as MLIT Principles on Investment for Water-related Disaster Rick Reduction (Mr. Ryoichi Suga), USACE Approach to Disaster Management (Mr. Ray Alexander), USACE Civil Works Planning and Budgeting Principles and Processes for Risk Reduction Water Resources Projects (Mr. Steve Kopecky), and the MLIT New Water Resources Policy in Japan - Risk-based Approach (Mr. Masahiro Yamaguchi). There were also briefings on recent U.S. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and their recovery efforts (COL David Hibner), as well as the Risk Based Approach used by USACE (Mr. Jeffery Strahan). The US participants were especially interested in Japan’s principle of “Build Back Better.” All of the presentations were well received and with the help of a translator many questions were addressed, making it a worthwhile technical exchange.