Individuals can now help the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) make our state a safer place to enjoy Iowa’s rivers and streams. Visit http://ifis.iowafloodcenter.org/ifis/fund/ to learn more!

The Fund-a-Sensor program, an online fundraising campaign, allows interested Iowans to support the expansion of the IFC’s electronic stream-stage sensor network. Currently, the IFC has deployed 129 of these sensors, with a goal to add 100 more. The IFC will deploy one additional sensor for every $3,000 received in donations. In addition, anyone can vote online to help select the location of the sensors — no gift required to vote.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to help the Iowa Flood Center meet the need for more extensive monitoring of Iowa’s rivers and streams,” says IFC Director Witold Krajewski. “Donors who make a gift of $3,000 — enough to cover the cost of one sensor — can also work with us to help select the site for the new sensor.”

Gifts to the Fund-a-Sensor project will be made through UI Foundation; gifts to the foundation qualify as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes, and are deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Krajewski adds, “The IFC stream-stage sensors provide valuable real-time information about water levels, allowing Iowans to be better informed and prepared for future flooding. We believe this extra measure of preparedness can save property, resources, and lives.”

To view the proposed expansion of the sensor network and learn more about the Fund-a-Sensor project, visit http://ifis.iowafloodcenter.org/ifis/fund/.

The Iowa Flood Center is part of IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering, a unit of the UI College of Engineering. The IFC was created in 2009 in the aftermath of the historic 2008 Iowa floods and is supported by state appropriations to improve flood monitoring and prevention in Iowa.

MEDIA CONTACT: Carmen Langel, Iowa Flood Center, 319-335-5841, carmen-langel@uiowa.edu, or Jackie Hartling Stolze, Iowa Flood Center, 319-335-6410, jackie-stolze@uiowa.edu.