Modeling, storing, and accessing critical data through the Stantec Connect platform

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Floodplain Mapping Data Management

In June 2008, historic floods devastated Iowa, leading to the birth of the Iowa Floodplain Mapping Program. Stantec has since partnered with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as program managers for more than a decade.

As part of the existing program, the DNR asked Stantec to explore a digital solution for their two-dimensional base level engineering workflow. Our team proposed that floodplain mapping data be modelled, stored, and accessed through the Stantec Connect platform. The initial platform deployment release would allow DNR contractors to upload and run models through the Agility cloud-computing module, provide QA/QC checks consistently using a Jupyter notebook, and view the outputs through visualized models to further the QA/QC action. Errors based on findings can be addressed by the contractors, or if the findings pass, data will be pushed to the platform’s Engage module to be used in delivery applications such as websites, APIs, and dashboards where data will be published for the community to view.

This process not only streamlines the model process but fast tracks the delivery to communities to mitigate and educate on potential flood risks. Additionally, the platform includes a module that learns from modeling activity and builds a machine learning dataset that could be used in future flood prediction effort.