Description: Iowa communities are embracing 2D Base Level Engineering — but what comes next? This session explores how Omaha and the Papio NRD used calibrated 2D modeling and real flood data to revise floodplain maps, guide urban redevelopment, and reduce flood impact risk. Learn what 2D flood modeling-enabled decision-making looks like when flood risk, infrastructure, and regulations collide.

Author: John Callen (JEO Consulting Group)*

Author Bio: John Callen is a Project Manager at JEO Consulting Group with more than 22 years of experience in floodplain management and risk analysis. He’s a Certified Floodplain Manager and a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states. He has served as both a local floodplain administrator and the NFIP State Coordinator at the Nebraska DNR, where he led permitting and mapping efforts at both the local and state levels.

At JEO, his work focuses on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, risk communication, and large-scale flood risk reduction across the Midwest. John also brings personal perspective to his work, having helped his wife’s family evacuate and recover from Missouri River flooding near Percival, Iowa in both 2011 and 2019.