Salt Creek Floodplain Resiliency Study

Salt Creek is the receiving stream for all the runoff generated within the city and most of the runoff generated within Lancaster County. The primary focus of this study is to illuminate how existing non-structural and structural floodplain management measures can be strengthened to further reduce flooding impacts to existing infrastructure, local businesses, residences, and future developments and enhance the floodplain resiliency in Salt Creek.

About the Area

Throughout Lincoln, levees provide significant protection from floods. The levees have been provisionally certified as a federal levee by the Corp of Engineers between Calvert Street and Superior Street. The levees are crucial in protecting homes and businesses from a majority of flooding. However, the levees will spill over and cause widespread flooding to properties during a 100-year flood event. A 100-year flood event has a one-percent chance of occurring annually.

Download Chapter 24 - Traffic Signals, ITS and Lighting Watershed Map (PDF, 6MB) Download Chapter 24 - Traffic Signals, ITS and Lighting Floodplain Map (PDF, 5MB)

Background

When the city’s floodplain maps were developed, they used the most up-to-date hydrologic and hydraulic modeling techniques and the readily available data for that time. Modeling techniques have become more precise and there is now more meteorological and hydrological data for both historical and future conditions.

New Innovations

The availability of future or projected rainfall data from Global Climate Models (GCMs) have allowed engineers and hydrologists to estimate how flood discharges may change in the future.

Our Goal

The goal is to find a mix of potential nonstructural and structural measures to effectively reduce flooding impacts to local businesses and residences. These measures should be resilient enough to stand the test of time and still provide the intended flood risk reduction under future design conditions.

As part of the Salt Creek Resiliency Study, the project team reviewed Best Management Practices (BMPs) for floodplain management.

Download Chapter 24 - Traffic Signals, ITS and Lighting BMP Resources Guide (PDF, 725KB)

The Salt Creek Floodplain Resilency Study is included as part of the City of Lincoln’s Climate Action Plan.

Learn More

Let’s continue to make Lincoln’s floodplain management a success story.

Related Information

Salt Creek Levee Project