Year in review: Flood protections coming slowly

*This storyline was voted as one of the top storylines of 2017 by Gazette staff. Other top storylines include the sale of Rockwell Collins, the debut of the Kinnick 'wave” to patients at the UI Stead Family Children's Hospital, and Kim Reynolds' first term in office.

As Cedar Rapids nears the 10-year anniversary of the 2008 flood that inundated swathes of downtown - and marks more than a year since 2016's near-record flooding on the Cedar River - local flood protections have been slow to come.

In early December, city officials celebrated completion of the Sinclair levee, which follows the Cedar River's east bank for a half mile from the African American Museum of Iowa to the Alliant substation south of downtown, protecting the nearby New Bohemia District.

While the city has spent millions clearing flood zone properties, elevating collector wells and implementing watershed management areas to protect residents, the $15 million levee - including $12.5 million from federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grant funds - is the first major piece of flood protection along the river.

City officials say one of the biggest challenges in getting flood protection projects off the ground has been securing federal funds.

City officials estimate the cost of building a full flood control system to be about $700 million over 20 years. Cedar Rapids is about $230 million short of that goal.

In addition, more than $70 million in federal aid funds still are up in the air. While approved by Congress, those funds have not been allocated.

Lawmakers blame the federal government's benefit-to-cost ratio, which gives priority to areas with higher property values, as Iowa's biggest challenge when it comes to securing funds. As a rural state, Iowa's ratio falls lower on the priority list.