Bee Branch Stormwater Pumping Station Project Receives $8 Million in Federal Funding 

APRIL 9, 2024

The recently passed federal government funding package includes $8 million to support the City of Dubuque’s ongoing flood mitigation efforts.   

The $8 million will go toward the $28 million Bee Branch Stormwater Pumping Station Project at the 16th Street Detention Basin. The project represents another phase in the Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project and includes construction of new flood gates, replacing two existing flood pumps with four new pumps, replacing and updating electrical service, and installation of a back-up generator. 

The funds are available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant program and were requested as Community Project Funding by U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson.  The PDM program makes federal funds available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to plan for and implement sustainable cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from future natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on federal funding from future disasters. The PDM grant program was authorized under Section 203 of the Stafford Act. 

“This is critical funding for a critical project. Our floodwall protects Dubuque from Mississippi River flooding, but we must be able to pump stormwater over the floodwall when the flood gates are closed due to high river levels,” said Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh. “We are grateful to U.S. Representative Hinson for her support of this project and FEMA for administering this program.” 

“While Dubuque has been a model for flood mitigation efforts – especially through the recently completed Bee Branch Creek Restoration and Culverts Projects – more must be done to protect the community from future disasters. I was proud to secure $8 million for flood mitigation gates and pumps to build on the progress we’ve already made, improve resiliency, and ensure Dubuque is prepared if severe weather strikes – this will save lives and livelihoods,” said Congresswoman Hinson. “I was proud to partner with the city and local stakeholders on this project, and I will continue to bring home investments in flood mitigation.” 

The new flood gates will be constructed on the basin side of the levee (on the west side of Kerper Boulevard) which allows for the pumps to operate more efficiently and allows the existing facility to maintain flood protection during construction of the new facility.  

The new facility will have four 90,000 gallon-per-minute pumps to allow for redundancy in the event of a pump failure. This project, along with the restored Bee Branch Creek and completed Railroad Culverts Project, will provide a system that can accommodate the flooding that occurred in the watershed between 1999 and 2011 -- flooding that resulted in six presidential disaster declarations and impacted more than 1,300 homes and businesses. It also provides for additional resiliency options as rainstorms increase in both depth and intensity. 

The City expects to initiate the public bidding process for the project this year with construction to be complete in spring 2027. 

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MEDIA CONTACT
Deron Muehring
DMuehrin@cityofdubuque.org, 563.589.4177