Flood Resiliency Improvement Grants

FRIF eligibility is limited to promoters, defined as “any political subdivision of the state, or any levee district or drainage district organized or incorporated in the state”, and their partners, defined as “a political subdivision, entity, or person working in conjunction with a promoter to facilitate the completion of a flood resiliency project.”

Flood resiliency can take many different forms and can be achieved in many different ways depending on community needs, resource availability and willingness to do a project. The costs vary widely depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

The first step in improving flood resiliency is to study the issue to understand the potential magnitude and duration of impacts of various flood scenarios to identify and articulate the need, develop and analyze alternative solutions to achieve desired goals while balancing need and cost, and develop engineering designs to implement the project.

Flood resiliency measures include but are not limited to a wide range of structural measures like armoring weak points on levees, levee conveyance setbacks, road raises, controlled backfill locations on levees, land acquisition in developed recurring flood prone areas, wet/dry floodproofing, replacement of undersized culverts, and drainage structure replacements. Flood resiliency also includes non-structural activities like developing Emergency Action Plans and other logistical and resource management plans.

Finally, flood resiliency can come from our ability to monitor and forecast flooding. In some circumstances, adding a new stream gage to the Missouri stream gage network could be a solution.

In short, flood resiliency projects need to identify a long-term flood mitigation need and develop a plan that provides long-term flood resiliency.

Funding is only available in the FRIF when appropriated by the Missouri legislature. The FRIF does not currently have an annual appropriation or significant cash balance, but applications to it can help demonstrate the need for future appropriations. Appropriations are subject to the discretion of the Missouri legislature based on their annual budget priorities and needs and, therefore, even an approved plan is not a guarantee of funding.

The costs, and therefore award amounts, vary widely depending on the scope and complexity of the project. Currently there is no funding minimum or maximum and there is no statutory match requirement. However, the cost and benefits of proposals will be considered. Because of the current nature of how the FRIF operates, alternatives that have the highest return on investment while achieving long-term flood resiliency will increase the likelihood of being approved and funds appropriated.

To apply for the FRIF, a sponsor must submit a plan for approval describing the need for, and implementation of, flood resiliency measures. The plan shall include a description of the flood resiliency project, the need for the project, the flood resiliency measures to be implemented, the partners to be involved in the project, and other such information needed to adequately evaluate the merit of the project. A plan will only be approved upon a determination that long-term flood mitigation is needed in that area of the state and that such a plan proposes flood resiliency measures that will provide long-term flood resiliency.

Because flood resiliency projects are unique and complexity varies depending on the need, please contact the Water Resources Center’s Fund Coordinator prior to developing or submitting applications.

Applications should be submitted to the Water Resources Center email at mowaters@dnr.mo.gov.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources 

• Missouri Hydrology Information Center (MoHIC) 
• Lower Missouri River Flood Resiliency Studies 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

• Lower Missouri River Basin Flood Risk & Resiliency Study 
• Value to the Nation: Flood and Coastal Storm Risk Management 
• National Levee Database (NLD) 

State Emergency Management Agency

• Missouri Floodplain Management/Floodplain Insurance Programs 
• Other Flooding Information 

Federal Emergency Management Agency

• Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program