Quad Cities Flood Resiliency Alliance
Launched in 2018, the Quad Cities Flood Resiliency Alliance brings communities, local governments, emergency management and public works personnel and other river stakeholders together as a single unit to prepare for, battle, and recover from floods, and take actions to reduce flood insurance costs for residential and commercial property owners.
Flooding and flood-related damage regularly affects our Quad Cities communities in the Mississippi River watershed. While many community flood issues may be complex and seem difficult to resolve, there are technical resources and programs available to help solve and mitigate flood-related problems. FEMA, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Homeland Security, the Insurance Service Office, Iowa or Illinois Emergency Management Agencies and Iowa or Illinois Department of Natural Resources each have resources to help us deal with the post-flood challenges at hand, and to help us prevent flood damages in the future.
In an effort to share information, promote sound floodplain management practices, save taxpayer dollars and reduce flood insurance costs, there is a new coalition of Mississippi River watershed communities. We can learn from one another and take advantage of synergies resulting from this new alliance. We are stronger together, as has been shown by model alliances in Illinois.
Some communities in Illinois and Iowa have had tremendous success in mitigating flood losses and we can collectively learn from their experiences. Only three of the 70-plus communities in the QCFRA footprint (Davenport, Iowa, Moline, Ill. and Rock Island County, Ill.) are currently part of the NFIP Community Rating System which enables communities to earn discounts on residential and commercial flood insurance premiums.
The key to success for QCFRA is involvement of state, local and federal elected officials to engage and promote participation in the Alliance. With engaged legislative champions, similar alliances have used the combined power of member communities to successfully apply for and receive significant federal grant funds for pre- and post-disaster mitigation activities. Mitigation efforts in these communities have resulted in millions of dollars in avoided flood-related losses.
- • Educating and bringing awareness to the CRS program.
- • Reduce flood insurance costs by providing certified floodplain manager training, providing assistance with enrollment in the CRS, and providing financial assistance to communities for completion of creditable activities in the CRS program.
- • Establishing pre-disaster communications and relationships between communities to enable sharing of resources and assistance around flood events.
- • Adopt forward-thinking floodplain management policies and ordinances.
- • Identify and prioritize flood hazards.
- • Secure grant funding to carry out the above activities.
Quarterly meetings are scheduled for February 15th, May 16th, August 15th, and November 21st of 2024 . Additional meetings or activities may be scheduled as needed. Contact River Action for additional details and meeting locations at 563-322-2969 or kwine@riveraction.org.
Helpful Links
Introduction to Flooding in Iowa
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