Flood Plain Management Services: Minnesota

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
Published March 16, 2017
Updated: Sept. 25, 2023

Purpose

This program educates individuals who live and work in floodplains on flood hazards and the actions they can take to reduce property damage and prevent the loss of life. The program’s objective is to foster public understanding of the options for dealing with flood hazards and to promote prudent use and management of the nation’s floodplains.

Location

Projects in the Flood Plain Management Services program occur throughout Minnesota.

Description

The program provides the full range of technical services and planning guidance that is needed to support effective floodplain management. The most common types of studies are floodplain delineation, flood hazard evaluation, dam break analysis, hurricane evacuation, flood warning and preparedness, regulatory floodway analysis, comprehensive floodplain management, flood risk reduction, urbanization impacts, storm water management, flood proofing and inventory of flood-prone structures. The program also aids with conducting workshops and seminars on nonstructural floodplain management measures such as flood proofing.

Status

  • Continued five-year flow frequency study for the Mississippi River from Anoka, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois, in conjunction with the Rock Island District and the St. Louis District
  • Continued Rainy River Comprehensive Flood Study
  • Continued Mississippi River Headwaters Reservoirs Elevation-Frequency Study
  • Completed Rock/Pipestone Counties flood emergency action plan workshop.
  • Initiated datum conversion from NGVD29 to NAVD88. Expected completion in fiscal year 2023.

Potential projects include Perkins Creek Hydrology and Hydraulics (Windom, MN), Prairie Island Indian Community Flood Emergency Action Plan Workshop, Wild Rice Habitat Workshop, Two Rivers Watershed Hydrology and Hydraulics Study, Beaver Creek at Lake Shetek Flood Study, Otter Tail River Watershed, Rum River Watershed Hydrology, Pipestone National Monument, and the Minnesota River Sediment Transport study for Lake Pepin Impacts.

Authority

The Flood Plain Management Services program is authorized by Section 206 of the Flood Control Act of 1960 (PL 86‒645) as amended.

Funding

Upper Mississippi River Regional Discharge-Frequency Study:

Estimated Study Cost                                    $3,500,000

Funding to Date                                             $1,000,000

Red River of the North Gage Datum Conversion:

Estimated Study Cost (FY22 BIL)            $150,000

Funding to Date                                                                                                   $150,000

Mississippi Headwaters Elevation-Frequency Analysis:

Estimated Study Cost                                       $250,000

Funding to Date                                                 $125,000

Rainy River Comprehensive Flood Study:

Estimated Study Cost                                       $300,000

Funding to Date                                                 $150,000