ISGS Seminar | The Illinois State Geological Survey’s documentation of the 1993 Flood and post flood community assistance

The record breaking 1993 flood occurred during the summer of 1993 after the spring flooding. The Illinois State Geological Survey documented conditions along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers from helicopters, boats and land before, during and after many of the levee breaches. Following the flooding, many communities moved all or parts of their towns to higher ground under federal buyout programs. ISGS assisted in site characterization and new ordinances to help avoid hazards.

Speaker Bio: Robert Bauer has a bachelor’s degree in geological science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s degree in engineering geology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He started at the ISGS 50 years ago after a short tenure at a county planning commission. He started researching coal mine subsidence and documenting mining conditions associated with Illinois’s first successful longwall coal mining operation. He worked on many projects such as documenting geomechanical properties of Illinois Basin Devonian black shale, initiated the unique in the world, Illinois Mine Subsidence Research Program that documented subsidence ground movements from the mine level to the ground surface and impacts on groundwater and crops. This program was awarded the Environmental Achievement Award from the National Environmental Awards Council, and its findings were used in legislation in Australia and South Africa. He directed the geotechnical investigation of the proposed Superconducting Super Collider for Illinois and initiated the still operating IDOT Property Assessment program at ISGS in 1989 and recently worked on the microseismicity of the Decatur CO2 storage. He served on several governor’s task forces; one on earthquakes and another on blasting impacts on landfills. He also worked on the task force for Illinois’s hydraulic fracturing legislation.

To attend online, contact info@isgs.illinois.edu for a Teams link.