Corps of Engineers, partners develop a flood forecast tool that helps citizens, government agencies in St. Paul, Minn.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Citizens and government agencies supporting flood fights in St. Paul, Minn., will soon have a new tool as a result of a recent multiagency effort. 

The Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District; U.S. Geological Survey; National Weather Service; Minnesota Homeland Security agency; Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; and the city of St. Paul, Minn., spent the past two years developing flood inundation maps that are linked to the city’s stream gauge for the Mississippi River. These maps can be accessed by the user to determine what the flood risk is for locations within the city along the Mississippi River corridor. 

“The maps will help citizens better understand, prepare for, and respond to floods risks within the city,” said Terry Zien, St. Paul District project manager. 

The maps are located at the NWS website at: http://water.weather.gov/ahps/inundation.php and the USGS website at: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/. The agencies also developed a report that is located at the USGS website: http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145079

The Corps of Engineers funded the project through the Silver Jackets Program. The program brings government agencies at all levels together to explore opportunities to communicate more effectively and support initiatives that reduce the risks associated with floods. 

The nearly 650 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil. 

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