first on decorahnews.com: The Iowa Flood Center is being asked to help Decorah with information needed for the Menard's application

The maps showing the floodplains in the City of Decorah were created by FEMA more than 40 years ago—in 1976.

City of Decorah officials have asked FEMA to update the floodplain maps, but, according to City Administrator Chad Bird, "We still don't have updated FEMA maps."  Bird says FEMA says it might be a year and a half before it could produce such maps.

Because the city will have to make a decision soon on Menard's application to fill in the floodplain along Old Stage Road, city officials are turning to a different organization in hopes of getting updated floodplain maps, according to sources which spoke to decorahnews.com.  The Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa has been active in recent years doing research involving the Upper Iowa River.  Now city council members and city staff are turning to the Flood Center in hopes they can hire the organization to do some modeling of what the Upper Iowa River floodplain looks like in the City of Decorah in 2018.

Sources tell decorahnews.com the hope is that the Iowa Flood Center could do some modeling that would project the impact a new Menard's building would have on the floodplain and on future flooding.  Menard's representatives have said because they would not bring fill dirt into the property, the development would have no impact on flooding.  Opponents of the project have questioned the impact of a proposed retention pond and point to the 200,000 square foot building's roof and the parking lot in front of the building as increasing the impact on flooding chances.  Iowa Flood Center projections could be used to determine the actual impact a new Menard's would have on the likelihood of flooding.