A June 2008 flood affected the lives of thousands in Eastern Iowa. Particularly affected were the communities of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa. This SGER project is for urgent research in the aftermath of this devastating flood by investigating impact of severe flooding on environmental quality of urban communities, especially the soil erosion and sediments loading. The origin of the sediments that cover the city of Cedar Rapids in the aftermath of the June 2008 flood is the central focus of this project. The transport of sediments through the city by floodwaters is of intense scientific interest because of the magnitude of deposition and because the sources of the sediments are not clear. This SGER must be initiated immediately because our ability to track the deposition of sediments will be lost as the tracers of the sediment decay. Many of the pollutants associated with the sediments and flood waters will remain, however. This project will lead to better understanding of sediments generated by floods that impact environmental quality of flood areas.
