As flooding disasters increase in intensity and prevalence, flood risk identification and disaster planning are integral to reducing future impacts and losses from severe weather. The Box Butte Creek Watershed has faced several major flooding events in recent years as a result of heavy rainfall events. These floods have affected communities across Box Butte and Sheridan Counties, damaging homes, agriculture, and infrastructure. Floodplain modeling and mapping gives officials actionable insights to mitigate these risks and improve disaster planning.
The floodplain mapping project will include 2D hydrologic and hydraulic analyses. The Stantec team will use software to simulate rainfall to predict water levels and flooding. These models produce realistic watershed responses and can be used to simulate a multitude of scenarios to assess flood-risk problems and mitigation options quickly and efficiently, reducing costs and helping ensure the most effective response.
“The increasing severity of extreme weather events put communities prone to flooding at even greater risk. Evaluating flood-risk areas and ways to counter these threats are vital to public safety,” said Jason Schneider, Senior Project Manager at Stantec. “We’re proud to support the Department of Natural Resources in helping to protect Nebraskans from these risks.”
