U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5068

Prepared in cooperation with the City of Kansas City, Missouri

Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue 

River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, 

Missouri, 2006–08 
Cover Photograph. Blue River near 63rd Street, May 7, 2007. Photograph taken by Brian Kelly, U.S. Geological Survey.
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for 

the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and 

Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 

2006–08

By Brian P. Kelly and Richard J. Huizinga

Prepared in cooperation with the City of Kansas City, Missouri

Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5068

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Mark D. Myers, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008

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Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to 

reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.

Suggested citation:

Kelly, B.P., and Huizinga, R.J., 2008, Estimated flood-inundation mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and 

Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006–08: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5068, 

34 p. plus appendixes.
iii

Contents

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................3

Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................3

Description of Study Area ............................................................................................................................3

Two-Dimensional Model Application .........................................................................................................4

Description of Model Reach ...............................................................................................................4

Model Development .............................................................................................................................4

Model Calibration..................................................................................................................................8

Simulated Velocity Magnitude and Direction ................................................................................16

Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping ......................................................................................................16

Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping Benefits and Limitations.................................................31

Blue River Estimated Flood-Inundation Maps on the World Wide Web ...................................32

Summary........................................................................................................................................................32

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................33

Appendixes

1. Velocity magnitude and direction animations—

1.1 Map showing locations of lower reach, meanders, and upper reach 

 depicted in velocity magnitude and direction animations

1.2 Velocity magnitude and direction animations–Overall reach

1.3 Velocity magnitude and direction animations–Lower reach

1.4 Velocity magnitude and direction animations–Meanders

1.5 Velocity magnitude and direction animations–Upper reach

2. Estimated flood-inundation maps—

2.1 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 763.8

2.2 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 765.8

2.3 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 767.8

2.4 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 769.8

2.5 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 771.8

2.6 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 773.8

2.7 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 775.8

2.8 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 777.8

2.9 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 779.8

2.10 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 781.8

2.11 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 783.8

2.12 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 785.8

2.13 63rd Street gage, stage elevation of 787.8
iv

Figures

1–13. Maps showing—

1. Study area, National Weather Service flood-forecast locations, and 

streamflow gage locations.................................................................................................2

2. Land-surface elevation in the study area........................................................................5

3. Simulated model reach of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 

63rd Street.............................................................................................................................7

4. Finite-element mesh of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 

63rd Street...........................................................................................................................11

5. Land-use coverage used in the model of the Blue River between Hickman 

Mills Drive and 63rd Street...............................................................................................12

6. Finite-element mesh in the vicinity of U.S. 71 Highway showing piers 

incorporated into the mesh using disabled elements and the pier module...........13

7. Simulated water-surface elevation and high-water marks for the flood of 

May 19, 2004 .......................................................................................................................15

8. Simulated water-surface elevation and high-water marks for the flood of 

May 15, 1990 .......................................................................................................................17

9. Simulated velocity magnitude for the flood of May 19, 2004......................................18

10. Simulated water depth for the flood of May 19, 2004 ..................................................19

11. Simulated velocity magnitude for the flood of May 15, 1990......................................20

12. Simulated water depth for the flood of May 15, 1990 ..................................................21

13. Location of cross sections used for flood-inundation area interpolation and 

the area of the FESWMS model used to create flood-inundation surfaces............23

14. Graphs showing calculated Blue River slopes, water-surface elevations, cross 

sections, and sources of data for flood-inundation maps ...................................................25

15. Map showing regions and sections of Blue River flood-inundation maps associated 

with each forecast or gage location .......................................................................................30
v

Tables

1. Location, elevation of gage datum, flood gage height, and local flood impacts of 

reference stream gages and flood forecast sites used for flood-inundation maps..........6

2. Manning’s roughness coefficients (n-values) for the calibrated model of the Blue 

River between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street..............................................................9

3. Measured and simulated water-surface elevations for the calibration floods of 

May 15, 1990, and May 19, 2004................................................................................................14

4. Measured and simulated water-surface elevation, cross-sectional area, and 

area-weighted average velocity at the discharge measurement location upstream 

from the 63rd Street Bridge for the calibration flood of May 19, 2004 ...............................14

5. Simulated rating depicting water-surface elevation at the 63rd Street Bridge 

and discharge as boundary conditions for developed flood inundation results 

in the two-dimensional model reach.......................................................................................24

6. River mile and calculated Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch watersurface elevation data for flood-inundation maps................................................................26

7. Flood frequency, discharge, and water-surface elevations at 63rd Street ......................28

8. Water-surface elevations and gage heights of historical crests for National 

Weather Service forecast locations for flood inundation on the Blue River....................28

9. Equivalent water-surface elevations and gage heights for stream gages and 

National Weather Service forecast locations for flood-inundation maps on the 

Blue River and Indian Creek .....................................................................................................29
vi

CONVERSION FACTORS AND DATUM

Multiply By To Obtain

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

square foot (ft2) 0.0929 square meter (m2)

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2)

foot per second (ft/s) 0.3048 meter per second (m/s)

foot per foot (ft/ft) 1 meter per meter (m/m)

foot per mile (ft/mi) 0.1894 meter per kilometer (m/km)

square foot per second (ft2/s) 0.0929 square meter per second (m2/s)

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 2446.6 cubic meter per day (m3/d)

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows: 

 °C = (°F - 32) / 1.8

Elevation, as used in this report, refers to distance above the National Geodetic Vertical Datum 

of 1929 (NGVD 29)—A geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level 

nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. Some 

elevations in this report refer to the distance above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue 

River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, 

Missouri, 2006–08

By Brian P. Kelly and Richard J. Huizinga

Abstract

In the interest of improved public safety during flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city 

of Kansas City, Missouri, completed a flood-inundation study 

of the Blue River in Kansas City, Missouri, from the U.S. 

Geological Survey streamflow gage at Kenneth Road to 63rd 

Street, of Indian Creek from the Kansas-Missouri border to 

its mouth, and of Dyke Branch from the Kansas-Missouri 

border to its mouth, to determine the estimated extent of flood 

inundation at selected flood stages on the Blue River, Indian 

Creek, and Dyke Branch. The results of this study spatially 

interpolate information provided by U.S. Geological Survey 

gages, Kansas City Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time 

gages, and the National Weather Service flood-peak prediction 

service that comprise the Blue River flood-alert system and are 

a valuable tool for public officials and residents to minimize 

flood deaths and damage in Kansas City. 

To provide public access to the information presented in 

this report, a World Wide Web site (http://mo.water.usgs.gov/

indep/kelly/blueriver) was created that displays the results 

of two-dimensional modeling between Hickman Mills Drive 

and 63rd Street, estimated flood-inundation maps for 13 flood 

stages, the latest gage heights, and National Weather Service 

stage forecasts for each forecast location within the study area. 

The results of a previous study of flood inundation on the Blue 

River from 63rd Street to the mouth also are available. In addition the full text of this report, all tables and maps are available for download (http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5068).

Thirteen flood-inundation maps were produced at 2-foot 

intervals for water-surface elevations from 763.8 to 787.8 feet 

referenced to the Blue River at the 63rd Street Automated 

Local Evaluation in Real Time stream gage operated by the 

city of Kansas City, Missouri. Each map is associated with 

gages at Kenneth Road, Blue Ridge Boulevard, Kansas City 

(at Bannister Road), U.S. Highway 71, and 63rd Street on the 

Blue River, and at 103rd Street on Indian Creek. The National 

Weather Service issues peak stage forecasts for Blue Ridge 

Boulevard, Kansas City (at Bannister Road), U.S. Highway 

71, and 63rd Street during floods. 

A two-dimensional depth-averaged flow model simulated 

flooding within a hydraulically complex, 5.6-mile study reach 

of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd 

Street. Hydraulic simulation of the study reach provided information for the estimated flood-inundation maps and watervelocity magnitude and direction maps.

Flood profiles of the upper Blue River between the U.S. 

Geological Survey streamflow gage at Kenneth Road and 

Hickman Mills Drive were developed from water-surface 

elevations calculated using Federal Emergency Management 

Agency flood-frequency discharges and 2006 stage-discharge 

ratings at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gages. Flood 

profiles between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street were 

developed from two-dimensional hydraulic modeling conducted for this study. Flood profiles of Indian Creek between 

the Kansas-Missouri border and the mouth were developed 

from water-surface elevations calculated using current stagedischarge ratings at the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow 

gage at 103rd Street, and water-surface slopes derived from 

Federal Emergency Management Agency flood-frequency 

stage-discharge relations. Mapped flood water-surface elevations at the mouth of Dyke Branch were set equal to the flood 

water-surface elevations of Indian Creek at the Dyke Branch 

mouth for all Indian Creek water-surface elevations; watersurface elevation slopes were derived from Federal Emergency 

Management Agency flood-frequency stage-discharge relations. 

Introduction

The Blue River flows 37 miles (mi) from the KansasMissouri border through the middle of Kansas City to its 

mouth at the Missouri River (fig. 1) and has been a source of 

flood damage in Kansas City for many years. Indian Creek is 

the largest tributary to the Blue River in Kansas City, Missouri. Flooding in the Blue River Basin has caused millions 

of dollars of damage (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952; National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1977; Hauth 

and Carswell, 1978; Becker and Alexander, 1983) and has 
2 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

U.S. 71 Highway

Blue Parkway

Interstate 70

Interstate 435

U.S. 40 

63rd Street

103rd Street

Gregory Boulevard

Blue Ridge Boulevard

Hickman Mills Drive

Kenneth

Road

Highway

#*

#

*

#*

#*

*#

#*

#*

#*

#

*

*#

#*

U.S. Geological Survey 

stage-only gage at 12th Street

(06893590)

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage

at 103rd Street

(06893400)

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage at Stadium Boulevard

(06893578)

Kansas City, Missouri

 ALERT gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

 ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage at Kansas City

(Bannister Road)

(06893500)

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage at 

Blue Ridge Boulevard

(06893150)

Kansas City, Missouri 

ALERT gage at Blue Parkway

National Weather Service

 Flood Forecast location at U.S. 40 Highway

U.S. Geological Survey Missouri River

streamflow gage at Kansas City

(06893000)

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage

at Kenneth Road

(06893100)

Blue 

Blue River

Missouri River

River

Dyke Branch

Indian Creek

94°36' 94°34' 94°32' 94°30' 94°28'

39°08'

39°06'

39°04'

39°02'

39°

38°58'

38°56'

38°54'

38°52'

MISSOURI

KANSAS

Study area

EXPLANATION

*# Streamflow gage and 

 flood-forecast location

 (ALERT, Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time)

Area of previously completed

 two-dimensional flow model

 (Kelly and Rydlund, 2006)

Area of two-dimensional flow model

 completed in this study

Area of previously completed

 flood-inundation maps

 (Kelly and Rydlund, 2006)

Area of flood-inundation maps

 completed in this study

0 1 2 3 MILES

0 1 2 3 KILOMETERS

SWOPE

PARK

BLUE

RIVER

PARKWAY

BLUE

RIVER 

PARKWAY

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Marketer projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

*# Streamflow gage only 

#

* Flood-forecast location only 

Park boundary

Figure 1. Study area, National Weather Service flood-forecast locations, and streamflow gage locations.
Description of Study Area 3

resulted in the deaths of more than 26 people in the last 30 

years. Because of the large amount of people and industry, the 

National Weather Service (NWS) issues flood forecasts during 

high water at eight locations along the Blue River in Kansas 

City, Missouri, and at one location on the Missouri River at 

Kansas City (fig. 1). Although this information is useful for 

residents within the vicinity of a NWS station, it is of limited use to residents upstream and downstream because the 

information does not provide the public with a visual picture 

of what the flood stage looks like through the entire river reach 

(Studley, 2003). Despite the known flooding hazards, emergency management agencies typically lack information related 

to the location, depth, and velocities of water in inundated 

areas during and after floods. Flood-inundation mapping frequently is done long after major floods (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952; Perry, 1994, Perry and others, 1997) and often is of 

marginal use to recovery efforts. However, in recent years the 

convergence of technological advances in real-time streamflow 

information, flood prediction, availability of 1- and 2-foot (ft)-

contour-interval topographic maps, two-dimensional hydraulic 

modeling, and geographic information systems (GIS) technology now makes delivery of real-time stage information, floodforecast prediction, and estimated flood-inundation maps on 

the World Wide Web possible.

In the interest of improved public safety during times of 

flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, began a project 

in 2003 to determine the extent and character of inundation 

in the Blue River valley from flooding in the Blue River for 

selected water-surface elevations above flood stage. In the 

first phase of the project, a website was created that associates 

real-time flow data and flood-inundation maps from the mouth 

of the Blue River upstream to Gregory Boulevard. A twodimensional model was applied to a hydraulically complex, 

2-mi length of the Blue River centered on the reach between 

63rd Street and the mouth of Brush Creek (fig. 1 in Kelly and 

Rydlund, 2006). Model results provided information about the 

performance of existing hydraulic structures, channel conditions, and areal distribution of water velocity on this reach of 

river for the estimated flood-inundation maps on the web. The 

second phase of the flood-inundation project, described in 

this report, began in 2006 and addresses the part of the Blue 

River from 63rd Street upstream to the USGS streamflow 

gage at Kenneth Road near the Kansas-Missouri border, as 

well as Indian Creek from its mouth to the state border and 

Dyke Branch, a tributary of Indian Creek. The second phase 

includes expansion of the website to include stage information 

and flood-inundation maps from the USGS gage at Kenneth 

Road to 63rd Street. Also, a detailed two-dimensional hydraulic simulation of the reach between Hickman Mills Drive and 

63rd Street provides flood-inundation maps, flood-plain water 

velocities and depths for existing flood-plain developments, 

and maps representing the areal distribution of water velocity 

magnitude and direction for a range of stages. Results from the 

second phase two-dimensional hydraulic model updates flood 

information from 63rd Street to Gregory Boulevard presented 

in the first phase of the project. The results of these studies 

spatially interpolate information provided by USGS streamflow gages, Kansas City ALERT (Automated Local Evaluation 

in Real Time) gages, and the NWS flood-peak prediction service that comprise the Blue River flood-alert system, and are 

a valuable tool for public officials and residents to minimize 

flood deaths and damage in Kansas City. In this report stage is 

a generic term for water level above an arbitrary datum established for each streamflow gage, and water-surface elevation is 

the elevation of the river surface above the National Geodetic 

Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29).

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to describe estimated floodinundation mapping in Kansas City, Missouri, for the upper 

Blue River between the USGS streamflow gage at Kenneth 

Road and 63rd Street, Indian Creek between the Kansas-Missouri border and the mouth, and Dyke Branch, a tributary of 

Indian Creek. Methods used to construct, calibrate, and verify 

the two-dimensional hydraulic modeling of the Blue River 

between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street, to prepare 

estimated flood-inundation maps, and to present estimated 

flood-inundation maps on the World Wide Web are described. 

Thirteen velocity-magnitude and direction maps are presented 

at 2-ft intervals above Blue River flood stage for the model 

reach. Thirteen flood-inundation maps are presented at 2-ft 

intervals above flood stage for the upper Blue River and Indian 

Creek flood plains from the USGS gage at Kenneth Road 

downstream to 63rd Street.

Acknowledgments

The following are acknowledged for their support of this 

study: the City of Kansas City—Parks and Recreation for 

providing access to the Blue River for flood measurement; the 

Kansas City U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, for providing channel bathymetry, and construction data; 

and the National Weather Service Forecast Office—Kansas 

City/Pleasant Hill for providing peak flood stages at floodforecast locations and historical peak-stage information.

Description of Study Area

The study area includes the Blue River flood plain from 

about 1,500 ft upstream from the USGS streamflow gage on 

the Blue River at Kenneth Road near the Kansas-Missouri border north to 63rd Street, and the Indian Creek flood plain from 

the state border east to its confluence with the Blue River (fig. 

1). Within Kansas City, the Blue River flood plain is about 

18 mi long; and the length of the Blue River is about 37 mi. 

The water-surface elevation of the Blue River at normal stage 

descends about 115 ft from the USGS streamflow gage on the 
4 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Blue River at Kenneth Road to 63rd Street, and the water-surface elevation of Indian Creek at normal stage descends about 

34 ft from the Kansas–Missouri border to the mouth. Total 

relief of the flood plain within the study area is approximately 

135 ft, and land-surface elevation ranges from more than 890 

ft along the valley walls at the south end of the study area to 

about 755 ft at 63rd Street (fig. 2). The local climate is characterized by large variations and sudden changes in temperature 

and precipitation. The average temperature in January, the 

coldest month, is 26.9 °F (degrees Fahrenheit) and the average 

temperature in July, the hottest month, is 78.5 °F. Average 

annual precipitation is 38 in. (inches) and almost 68 percent of 

precipitation occurs between April and September (National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2003). An estimate 

of the 90 percent rainfall event for the Kansas City area (the 

90th percentile daily rainfall accumulation, excluding accumulations less than 0.1 in) is 1.37 in. (Young and McEnroe, 

2002). 

Much of the lower Blue River flood plain is covered by 

industrial development. Rapid development in the upper end 

of the basin likely has increased peak discharges and, thus, the 

areal extent of flood inundation for the Blue River. The small 

drainage areas of the Blue River [275 square miles (mi2

)] and 

Indian Creek (50 mi2

) indicate that flash floods are likely and 

there is minimal time for flood forecasting and response. The 

Blue River and Indian Creek basins also are the location of 

large parks and recreational development. Swope Park (fig. 1) 

is home to the city zoo and two large golf courses. Blue River 

Parkway, administered by Jackson County, covers most of the 

Blue River riparian corridor for 9 mi upstream from Swope 

Park. Bicycle, pedestrian, and equestrian trails exist or are 

planned for the entire length of both streams.

Because of the large number of people, businesses, and 

parks along the upper Blue River in Kansas City, the NWS 

issues flood forecasts for four gage locations in the study area 

(fig. 1) during high water. Current river stages and peak-stage 

forecasts are presented on the NWS Advanced Hydrologic 

Prediction Service internet site at http://www.weather.gov/

ahps/. Additional stage and streamflow data are provided by 

USGS streamflow gages (available at http://waterdata.usgs.

gov/mo/nwis/current/?type=flow), and Kansas City ALERT 

Gages. Gage locations in the study area on the Blue River 

(upstream to downstream order) are the USGS streamflow 

gage on the Blue River at Kenneth Road (station number 

06893100), the USGS streamflow gage and NWS forecast 

location at Blue Ridge Boulevard (station number 06893150), 

the USGS streamflow gage and NWS forecast location at 

Kansas City at Bannister Road (station number 06893500), the 

Kansas City ALERT stage-only gage and NWS forecast location at U.S. 71 Highway, and the Kansas City ALERT stageonly gage and NWS forecast location at 63rd Street. The gage 

location on Indian Creek is the USGS streamflow gage on 

Indian Creek at 103rd Street in Kansas City (station number 

06893400). Gage or forecast-location names, elevation of gage 

datum, flood gage heights, and local impacts for selected flood 

gage heights are listed in table 1.

Two-Dimensional Model Application

A depth-averaged flow model Flo2DH [part of the Federal 

Highway Administrations’s Finite Element Surface-Water 

Modeling System (FESWMS) designed for hydraulic structures and flood plains; Froelich, 2002] was chosen to simulate 

steady-state flood flows within a hydraulically complex reach 

of the Blue River. Two-dimensional models simulate flow 

around bends, piers, buildings, and encroaching hydraulic 

structures; flow within expanding and contracting reaches; and 

backwater effects on inflowing tributaries. The two-dimensional model was used to construct maps of flood-inundation 

extent, water velocity and flow direction, and depth within the 

flood plain. These model outputs also can be useful in designing potential channel and flood-plain improvements throughout the simulated reach.

Description of Model Reach

The modeled reach of the Blue River between Hickman 

Mills Drive and 63rd Street (fig. 3) is approximately 5.6 river 

miles long and consists of a deeply incised channel, sharp 

meander bends, small tributary junctions, and frequent riffles 

exhibiting substantial gradient change. The model reach is 

bordered on the east and west by flood-plain valley walls. The 

flood plain of the model reach mostly is timber and brush, kept 

grasses (mowed park land and golf courses), and thick grasses 

with small sprouts. A thick riparian corridor exists along the 

Blue River. Several small unnamed tributaries exist in the 

model reach. The tributaries have drainage areas between 1 

and 2 mi2

 and were not considered to contribute to flood discharges because of limited contributions of flow at the time of 

main-stem flooding. 

Model Development

Two-dimensional modeling provides more hydraulic detail than conventional one-dimensional analysis. The 

FESWMS Flo2DH model simulates flow in two dimensions 

in the horizontal plane. It uses a finite-element mesh and 

the Galerkin finite-element method of solving three partialdifferential equations representing conservation of mass and 

momentum (Froehlich, 2002). This two-dimensional model 

simulates longitudinal and lateral variations in water-surface 

elevations and velocities and can accommodate geometric 

features, such as highway embankments, bridge structures, 

channel bends, berms, buildings, and other flow obstructions. 

A graphical user interface called the Surface-Water Modeling 

System (SMS; Environmental Modeling Research Laboratory, 

1999) was used to construct the two-dimensional finite-element mesh, facilitate assignment of roughness coefficients and 

other hydraulic and material parameters to the mesh elements, 

execute the model, and evaluate the model output. 
Two-Dimensional Model Application 5

#

#

#

#

#

#

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway

Kansas City, Missouri, 

ALERT gage at 63rd Street

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage at Kenneth Road

(06893100)

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage 

at 103rd Street

(06893400)

U.S. Geological Survey 

streamflow gage at 

Blue Ridge Boulevard

(06893150)

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage at Kansas City

(Bannister Road)

(06893500)

94°36' 94°34' 94°32'

39°

38°58'

38°56'

38°54'

38°52'

EXPLANATION

Land-surface elevation, 

 in feet above NGVD 29

1,030.1 to 1,040

1,020.1 to 1,030

1,010.1 to 1,020

1,000.1 to 1,010

990.1 to 1,000

980.1 to 990

970.1 to 980

960.1 to 970

950.1 to 960

940.1 to 950

930.1 to 940

920.1 to 930

910.1 to 920

900.1 to 910

890.1 to 900

880.1 to 890

870.1 to 880

860.1 to 870

850.1 to 860

840.1 to 850

830.1 to 840

820.1 to 830

810.1 to 820

800.1 to 810

790.1 to 800

780.1 to 790

770.1 to 780

760.1 to 770

750.1 to 760

740.1 to 750

739.6 to 740

0 1 2 MILES #

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:24,000, 1996

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Streamflow gage and 

 flood-forecast location

 (ALERT, Automated Local 

 Evaluation in Real Time)

Figure 2. Land-surface elevation in the study area.
6 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006–08 Table 1. Location, elevation of gage datum, flood gage height, and local flood impacts of reference stream gages and flood forecast sites used for flood-inundation maps. [NWS, National Weather Service; ft, feet; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NA, not applicable; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Verti- cal Datum of 1929] Stream gage and station number or Elevation of gage datum Flood stagea, b NWS forecast location name (ft) (ft) Local flood impactsa Blue River USGS Streamflow gage (06893100)—Blue River at 858.36 NA NA Kenneth Road in Overland Park, Kansas (NAVD 88) USGS Streamflow gage (06893150)—Blue River at 800.00 51.6 Water overtops the Blue Ridge Boulevard Bridge. Blue Ridge Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri (NAVD 88) 50.3 Water begins to flood the Blue Ridge Boulevard about 100 yards east (NWS Forecast Location) of the Bridge. 47.8 Water begins to flood the first floor of homes. 47.2 Water reaches the bottom of Blue Ridge Boulevard Bridge. 46.0 Basement flooding of homes begins near the Blue Ridge Boulevard Extension. 38.6 Blue Ridge Boulevard on the west side of the bridge begins to flood. 36.5 Red Bridge road begins to flood. 36.0 Low-lying apartments on Holmes Road begin to flood. 35.3 Recreation area on the northwest side of the bridge begins to flood. USGS Streamflow gage (06893500)—Blue River at 753.73 41.0 Water approaches the Federal Complex at Bannister Road. Kansas City (at Bannister Road), Missouri (NWS (NGVD 29) Forecast Location) 34.0 Woodlands along the river are flooded. Water may approach flood stage at U.S. 71 Highway and other downstream locations. Kansas City ALERT stage-only gage at U.S. 71 High- 722.90 66.0 Floodwater approaches a major business complex near this site. The way (NWS Forecast Location) (NGVD 29) parking lot of the business may be flooded and water may reach the building. 61.0 Low-lying areas in the vicinity of Hickman Mills Drive, 85th Street, and U.S. 71 Highway begin to flood. Kansas City ALERT stage-only gage at 63rd Street 721.78 55.6 Water approaches the railroad tracks on the west side of the river. (NWS Forecast Location) (NGVD 29) 52.3 Water enters a manufacturing plant on Colorado Street. 49.0 Water approaches 59th Street. 48.0 Low-lying areas in the vicinity of 63rd Street begin to flood. Indian Creek USGS Streamflow gage (06893400)—Indian Creek at 722.57 NA NA 103rd Street in Kansas City, Missouri (NAVD 88)

aNational Weather Service, 2007.bAdd zero gage datum to gage height to convert gage height to water-surface elevation.
Two-Dimensional Model Application 7

EXPLANATION

Blue River channel

Two-dimensional

 model boundary

ALERT gage

 (ALERT, Automated Local

 Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

Unnamed

tributary

Lagoon

The

Lake of

the Woods

SWOPE PARK

Zoo

Landfill

Land surface

 higher than

 potential

 inundation

 area

Road River

Blue

Pacific Railroad Union

75th Terrace

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Lewis Road

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

Hickman Mills Drive

Gregory

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at U.S. 71 Highway

Gregory

Boulevard

Boulevard

Unnamed

Unnamed

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 3. Simulated model reach of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street.
8 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Two-dimensional model geometry is characterized by 

elements and nodes in the form of a finite-element network 

or mesh. The SMS software was used to convert existing 2-ft 

topographic contour data (City of Kansas City, Missouri, 

written commun., 2004) and supplemental onsite field-survey 

data into a scatter data set that was optimally configured into 

a finite-element network or mesh consisting of triangular and 

quadrilateral elements. The finite-element mesh provides the 

geometric foundation for two-dimensional flow characteristics 

as opposed to individual cross sections employed by onedimensional models.

The quality of the mesh was checked using a mesh-quality 

utility within SMS. Mesh quality refers to individual element 

shape and the consistency in which elements relate to one 

another. Well-constructed elements ensure better numerical 

stability in the finite-element network. Elements should adhere 

to guidelines concerning interior angles, aspect ratios, element 

size, curved sides, and the location of midside nodes within 

the element. In addition to the shape of individual elements, 

guidelines were set to improve relative consistency among 

elements. Smooth contours, smooth boundaries, adequate size 

transition among elements, density of elements, and the necessity of constructing smaller elements at the wet/dry boundary 

interface often were employed. The wet/dry boundary interface is one of the more common causes of solution divergence, 

especially if the elements in transition are comparatively 

large and only small parts of those elements are actually dry 

(Froehlich, 2002). The deeply incised channel within the study 

reach has steep banks that required smaller thin elements 

along the banks and additional element refinement near the top 

of the banks (fig. 4).

Once a finite-element mesh was created and the quality 

maintained, the elements of the mesh were characterized by 

assigning material (fig. 5) and hydraulic properties to the elements, such as Manning’s roughness coefficient (Chow, 1959; 

Barnes, 1967; Arcement and Schneider, 1989), and additional 

turbulence parameters such as base kinematic eddy viscosity (Vo

) and element storativity depth. A depth-dependent 

Manning’s roughness coefficient (n-value) method was used, 

wherein the “lower depth” n-value is applied when the water 

depth over the nodes around an element is less than the lower 

depth, and the “upper depth” n-value is applied when the water 

depth is greater than the upper depth; when the water depth 

is between the lower and upper depths, the n-value is interpolated linearly from the upper and lower n-values (Froehlich, 

2002). Depth-dependent n-values were used to account for 

changes in the roughness with increased depth of flow; generally, the roughness decreases with increased depth because the 

effect of the physical features causing the roughness decreases 

as the depth of flow increases (for example, grass and brush 

that lie over in high flows). Roughness coefficients and depths 

consistent with previous two-dimensional models completed 

immediately downstream (Kelly and Rydlund, 2006; Huizinga, 2007) were established throughout the flood plain and 

within the channel. Final coefficients for the calibrated model 

are listed in table 2.

Base kinematic eddy viscosities (Vo ) represent turbulent conditions throughout the finite-element mesh and are 

necessary to provide numerical damping for model stability. 

Element storativity is another turbulence parameter that allows 

partially dry elements to be retained in calculations when solving governing equations (Froehlich, 2002). 

Piers for bridges in the model reach were incorporated 

into the mesh in two ways. First, large piers and piers with 

solid webs were hard-coded into the model mesh, and the 

elements within each pier location were disabled to force 

flow around such piers. All the piers for the 63rd Street and 

Gregory Boulevard bridges were incorporated into the mesh in 

this way, as were the piers near the main channel for the 87th 

Street and U.S. 71 Highway bridges. The remaining piers for 

the 87th Street and U.S. 71 Highway bridges, as well as the 

piers for the U.S. 71 Highway bridges over the Union Pacific 

Railroad, were incorporated into the model using the pier 

module in FESWMS. These additional piers generally were 

circular columns ranging from 3 to 5 ft in diameter that would 

not substantially affect flow in the model, but would have 

resulted in inordinate mesh refinement to incorporate directly 

into the model mesh. Position, orientation, and dimensions 

of each pier were obtained from bridge plans (City of Kansas 

City, Department of Public Works, 1917; Missouri Department 

of Transportation, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1988d) to accurately 

position and size the piers (fig. 6).

Model Calibration

The amount of flow into the mesh and a water-surface 

elevation where flow leaves the mesh are required model 

inputs. The two-dimensional model from the first phase of the 

project was calibrated to a flood that occurred May 19, 2004, 

that produced bank-full and partial overbank flow conditions 

(Kelly and Rydlund, 2006) at a discharge of 12,300 cubic feet 

per second (ft3

/s). Peak-flow measurements and high-water 

marks were acquired during this event. A study by Huizinga 

(2007) that used a version of the two-dimensional model from 

the first phase was calibrated to the May 19, 2004, flood, but 

also was calibrated to a flood that occurred May 15, 1990, 

which had a discharge of approximately 31,800 ft3

/s, and for 

which flow occurred on the flood plain on both sides of the 

channel.

A particular flow scenario cannot be simulated directly 

because the model cannot be started with boundary conditions that exactly represent the true conditions (Huizinga and 

Rydlund, 2001; Kelly and Rydlund, 2006, Huizinga, 2007). 

The conditions that are to be simulated are reached in a 

process called spindown. In a subcritical flow regime, spindown involves starting the model with the desired discharge as 

the upstream boundary condition and a downstream watersurface elevation that is higher than the highest land-surface 

elevation in the mesh. This condition must be met so that all 

nodes and elements in the model are “wet” (having a positive 

depth of flow). The model is run with these conditions for 
Two-Dimensional Model Application 9

Table 2. Manning’s roughness coefficients (n-values) for the calibrated model of the Blue River between 

Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street.

[ft, feet]

Lower depth Upper depth

Land-use coverage Manning’s n Depth (ft) Manning’s n Depth (ft)

Channel and bank

Sand and gravel channel 0.040 3.0 0.025 4.0

Riprap-lined channela .045 1.5 .030 8.0

Timber and brushb .110 2.5 .080 5.0

Thick timber corridor with thick sproutsc .125 3.0 .110 6.0

Thick grasses with scattered sprouts .055 1.7 .045 3.2

Flood plain

Kept grassesd 0.050 1.0 0.033 2.7

Kept grasses with interspersed treese .055 1.5 .040 2.5

Railroad embankment with ballast and sprouts .038 1.0 .032 2.0

Impervious area with asphalt, concrete, and gravel .027 1.0 .025 2.0

Commercial area with junkyard, cars, and machinery .150 5.0 .080 7.0

a

Not used in Kelly and Rydlund (2006).

b

“Thick brush and timber banks” in Kelly and Rydlund (2006).

c

Kelly and Rydlund (2006).

d

“Industrial area with kept grasses” in Kelly and Rydlund (2006).

e

“Residential area with kept grasses and interspersed trees” in Kelly and Rydlund (2006).

a sufficient number of iterations to cause the water-surface 

elevation changes between iterations to be minimized within 

a preset limit. Once the limit is reached, the model is said to 

have “converged.” The downstream water-surface elevation is 

then decreased by some finite amount, the model is restarted 

using the results of the previous run—called a hotstart—as 

the starting point for the new run, and the model is run until 

convergence occurs. This process is repeated until the desired 

downstream water-surface elevation is reached, as dictated by 

high-water marks, flood profiles, or other known site parameters. During the spindown process, if the simulated water-surface elevation at a particular node is less than the land-surface 

elevation assigned to the node, then the node is said to “go 

dry.” If one or more of the nodes for a particular element go 

dry, then the element goes dry, and the element is not included 

in the computations during that iteration. As the simulation 

proceeds through iterations, an element can oscillate between 

wet and dry, which can lead to solution instability and a loss of 

convergence. To limit this instability, the user sets a tolerance 

on the depth of flow over a node; however, if an element goes 

dry and stays dry for several iterations, it can and should be 

manually disabled to prevent model instability.

The peak stage of May 19, 2004, occurred at 6:30 p.m. 

at 63rd Street. A discharge measurement was made in a boat 

using hydroacoustic technology at a location immediately 

upstream from the 63rd Street bridge. The narrow and sinuous 

channel, timbered corridor, considerable velocities, standing 

waves, and turbulence prevented adequate hydroacoustic measurements anywhere else in the study reach. In the first phase 

of the project, Kelly and Rydlund (2006) used an average flow 

of 12,300 ft3

/s for this flood, and this value was considered the 

upstream total flow boundary condition for a steady-state condition of the current (2008) two-dimensional model because 

there are no major inflow tributaries between U.S. 71 Highway 

and Blue Parkway.

Six high-water marks indicating peak stage were identified along the study reach for the flood of May 19, 2004, 

and were considered “fair” to “poor” in quality. Because the 

ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway was not functioning during 

the flood, a peak stage at the gage was estimated from the 

existing flood-forecast stage from the NWS, based on the peak 

stage at 63rd Street (Steve Predmore, NWS, written commun., 

2007). The cross-sectional area and average velocity from the 

discharge measurement made upstream from the 63rd Street 

bridge were used as calibration values near the downstream 

boundary. Measured and simulated water-surface elevations 

are described in table 3, and the water-surface elevation, crosssectional area, and velocity from the measurement upstream 
10 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08 Two-Dimensional Model Application 11 Area shown in figure 6

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

Unnamed

tributary

Lake ofthe Woods

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

Hickman

87th Street

Mills Drive

Gregory

Gregory Boulevard

Boulevard

EXPLANATION

Two-dimensional model boundaryALERT gage (ALERT, Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time)

Kansas City, Missouri ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at U.S. 71 Highway

94°31' 94°31'30" 94°32' 94°32'30" 94°33'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

FINITE-ELEMENT MESH DETAIL

Finite-element mesh of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd Street. Figure 4. 
12 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Land use

 Area of no flow (building or other structure)

 Piers incorporated into model mesh

 Sand and gravel channel

 Riprap-lined channel

 Timber and brush

 Thick timber and thick brush

 Thick grasses with sprouts

 Kept grasses with interspersed trees

 Kept grasses

 Commercial area (junkyard, cars, and machinery)

 Impervious area

 Railroad embankment

EXPLANATION

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated Local 

 Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at U.S. 71 Highway

Unnamed

Unnamed

Gregory

Boulevard

Boulevard

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 5. Land-use coverage used in the model of the Blue River between Hickman Mills Drive and 63rd 

Street.
Two-Dimensional Model Application 13

EXPLANATION

Two-dimensional model

 boundary

Solid-web piers incorporated

 using disabled elements

Circular piers incorporated

 using pier module

ALERT gage 

 (ALERT, Automated Local 

 Evaluation in Real Time

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

Blue River Road

Hickman Mills Drive

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at U.S. 71 Highway

Blue River

Blue River

94°32'50" 94°32'45" 94°32'40"

38°58'25"

38°58'20"

38°58'15"

0 100 200 300 400 500 FEET

0 50 100 150 METERS

Base from Jackson County Management Information

Systems digital data, 1:833, 2003

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 6. Finite-element mesh in the vicinity of U.S. 71 Highway showing piers incorporated into the mesh 

using disabled elements and the pier module.
14 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

from the 63rd Street bridge are shown with the simulated 

results in table 4. Generally, the simulated water-surface 

elevations were within 0.2 ft of the measured water-surface 

elevations for the May 19, 2004, flood, with the exception of 

the southwest mark near Lewis Road and the estimated watersurface elevation at the ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway (fig. 

7). Two similar floods on March 5, 2004, and June 4, 2005, 

which had water-surface elevations that bracketed watersurface elevations for the May 19, 2004, flood at the gage at 

63rd Street (759.0 ft and 763.3 ft, —a difference of 4.3 ft), 

had nearly identical peak-stage readings at the gage at U.S. 71 

Highway (782.9 ft and 782.8 ft). These stages were both about 

4 ft higher than the forecast stage; therefore, the water-surface 

elevation at the gage at U.S. 71 Highway was not considered 

crucial to the calibration to the flood of May 19, 2004.

Two historical high-water marks indicating peak stage 

were identified along the study reach for the flood of May 15, 

1990 (Helena Mosser, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, written 

commun., 2006), and an historical peak stage was recorded 

for the ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway (National Weather 

Service, 2007). Although the conditions of the Blue River 

channel and flood plain between 75th Terrace and 63rd Street 

(fig. 3) currently (2008) are essentially the same as existed in 

1990, substantial changes have occurred in land use and channel conditions in the vicinity of U.S. 71 Highway and downstream. Therefore, the historical peak stage at the ALERT 

gage at U.S. 71 Highway (788.0 ft) was not used, and a value 

again was estimated from the existing flood forecast rating 

from the NWS, based on the peak stage at 63rd Street (Steve 

Predmore, written commun., 2007). Measured and simulated 

Table 3. Measured and simulated water-surface elevations for the calibration floods of May 15, 1990, and May 19, 2004.

[ft3/s, cubic feet per second; ft, feet; --, not determined/not applicable]

May 19, 2004, flood 

(12,300 ft3

/s)

May 15, 1990, flood 

(31,800 ft3

/s)

Location

Lewis Road, northeasta

Measured 

water-surface 

elevation 

(ft)

763.8

Simulated 

water-surface 

elevation 

(ft)

764.0

Simulated 

minus 

measured

(ft)

0.2

Measured 

water-surface 

elevation 

(ft)

--

Simulated 

water-surface 

elevation 

(ft)

--

Simulated 

minus 

measured

(ft)

--

Lewis Road, southwesta 763.7 764.0 -.3 -- -- --

Gregory Boulevard b

769.3 769.5 .2 781.6 781.6 0

Blue River Road 771.4 771.4 0 -- -- --

Stage-only gage at U.S. 

71 Highway

a

These three measurements

channel. Therefore, the “aver

c

778.9

 were all in the sa

age” water-surfac

778.3

me area of Swope Park

e elevation created by 

-.6

, except that the 

these three marks

c

788.9

northeast mark was in

 (763.9 ft) was used a

788.8

 an area of backwater a

s the comparison value

-0.1

way from the main 

 for the calibration.

b

The measured water-surface elevation for the flood of May 19, 2004, was obtained from a paint mark on the downstream side of one of the 

Gregory Boulevard bridge piers and was considered a “poor” mark. The difference between the simulated and measured values likely is the result of 

drawdown effects from the pier.

c

The estimated water-surface elevation was obtained from the forecast stage from the National Weather Service (Steve Predmore, written commun., 

2007) based on the water-surface elevation at the 63rd Street gage for 2007 conditions.

Table 4. Measured and simulated water-surface elevation, cross-sectional area, and area-weighted 

average velocity at the discharge measurement location upstream from the 63rd Street Bridge for the 

calibration flood of May 19, 2004.

[ft, feet; ft2, square feet; ft/s, feet per second]

Parameter Measured Simulated 

Absolute value of percentage 

difference of simulated relative to measured

Water-surface elevation (ft)

Cross-sectional area (ft2)

Average velocity (ft/s)

762.4

4,230

2.88

762.3

4,072

3.02

0.01

3.74

4.86
Two-Dimensional Model Application 15

780.0

778.0

776.0

774.0

772.0

770.0

768.0

766.0

764.0

762.0

EXPLANATION

Simulated water-surface elevation,

 in feet (ft) above NGVD 29

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

High-water mark location

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

med Unna

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

evard Boul

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 

U.S. 71 Highway

Gregory

Boulevard

Estimated, 778.9 ft

Simulated, 778.3 ft

Measured, 771.4 ft

Simulated, 771.4 ft

Measured, 769.3 ft

Simulated, 769.5 ft

Measured, 762.4 ft

Simulated, 762.3 ft

Measured, 763.8 ft

Simulated, 764.0 ft

Measured, 763.7 ft

Simulated, 764.0 ft

Measured, 764.2 ft

Simulated, 764.0 ft

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American

Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 7. Simulated water-surface elevation and high-water marks for the flood of May 19, 2004.
16 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

water-surface elevations are listed in table 3. The simulated 

water-surface elevations (fig. 8) were within 0.1 ft of the measured or estimated water-surface elevations, and the quality of 

the high-water marks indicating water-surface elevation was 

considered “fair.” 

The May 19, 2004 flood primarily was contained within 

the channel and adjacent overbanks (fig. 7). Depth-averaged 

velocities as high as 6.5 feet per second (ft/s) were simulated in the channel in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 71, and 

velocities as high as 6.0 ft/s were simulated under the Gregory 

Boulevard Bridge and at several locations between Gregory 

Boulevard and 63rd Street (fig. 9). Velocities in the channel 

between U.S. 71 Highway and Gregory Boulevard generally 

were lower than in the downstream channel, where velocities as high as 5.3 ft/s occurred at a few locations of local 

flow constriction (fig. 9). The general water-surface elevation 

slope throughout the reach for the May 19, 2004, flood was 

approximately 0.00059 feet per foot (ft/ft) or about 3.1 feet per 

mile (ft/mi). Water depths of 23 to 28 ft were simulated in the 

deeply incised channel, with a few local scour holes as deep as 

33 ft (fig. 10). On the flood plain, water depths ranging from 

10 to 15 ft were simulated in the overbank areas immediately 

adjacent to the channel. Localized terraces with simulated 

water depths of 5 ft or less exist on the inside of several of the 

meander bends (fig. 10).

The May 15, 1990 flood was not contained to the channel 

or adjacent overbanks, but was more widespread throughout 

the flood plain (fig. 8) than the May 19, 2004 flood. Depthaveraged velocities as high as 7.5 ft/s were simulated in the 

channel upstream from U.S. Highway 71, and velocities as 

high as 6.5 ft/s were simulated under the Gregory Boulevard 

Bridge and between Gregory Boulevard and 63rd Street in 

an area of local flow constriction (fig. 11). As with the 2004 

flood, velocities in the channel between U.S. 71 Highway and 

Gregory Boulevard generally were lower than in the downstream channel; however, velocities as high as 6.3 ft/s were 

simulated at a few locations of local flow constriction (fig. 

11). Unlike the 2004 flood, however, velocities in the meander 

bends upstream and downstream from Gregory Boulevard 

were substantially lower as flow increased across the narrow 

flood plain between the upstream and downstream sides of 

each bend. The general water-surface elevation slope throughout the reach for the May 15, 1990, flood was approximately 

0.00047 ft/ft, or about 2.5 ft/mi. The water-surface elevation 

had the greatest changes where substantial water-velocity 

gradients occurred (fig. 8). Water depths of 36 to 46 ft were 

simulated in the deeply incised channel (fig. 12). On the flood 

plain, water depths ranging from 15 to 25 ft were simulated in 

much of the overbank areas immediately adjacent to the channel (fig. 12). Localized terraces with simulated water depths 

of 10 ft or less existed on the inside of several of the meander 

bends in the model reach (fig. 12).

Simulated Velocity Magnitude and Direction

Discharge values associated with water-surface elevation at the 63rd Street Bridge at 2-ft intervals from 763.8 

through 787.8 ft were selected and input into the two-dimensional model (table 5). Each discharge and water-surface 

elevation pair was simulated in the two-dimensional model, 

using the “spindown” process described in the “Model Calibration” section of this report. The process was initiated with 

the first boundary conditions of a discharge of 92,000 ft3/s 

and water-surface elevation at 787.8 ft. Acceptable convergence with the given boundary conditions was achieved 

when the maximum change in water-surface elevation was 

less than 0.005 ft. Once the model attained acceptable 

convergence, the next water-surface elevation and discharge 

were simulated. Thirteen water-surface elevations (2-ft intervals from 763.8 to 787.8 ft above NGVD 29) are depicted 

with flow-trace animations for the model reach in appendix 1 

(at the back of this report).

Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping

Water-surface elevations between Hickman Mills Drive 

and 63rd Street were determined using the two-dimensional 

flow-modeling results. Upstream from Hickman Mills Drive, 

water-surface elevations at each gage or forecast location were 

extrapolated across the flood plain along cross-section lines 

oriented perpendicular to the downstream direction of the Blue 

River flood plain. Cross-section line locations were selected 

to provide water-surface information at gage locations, where 

changes in orientation of the flood plain occurred, at bridges, 

and at large bends in the river. The locations of these cross 

sections and the model reach, which required no horizontal 

extrapolation, are shown on figure 13.

Flood profiles of the unmodeled reach of the upper Blue 

River between the USGS gage at Kenneth Road and Hickman 

Mills Drive were developed from flood discharges published 

by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA; 

Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1990, 2002) and 

2006 stage-discharge ratings at USGS streamflow gages (H.F. 

Hauck, written commun., 2006). To ensure the consistency 

of Blue River water-surface elevations between the modeled 

reach and the unmodeled reach above Hickman Mills Drive, 

the two-dimensional model-derived discharge at Hickman 

Mills Drive was used to assign an equivalent discharge from 

the FEMA discharge data to each upstream gage for each 

flood-inundation map. Water-surface elevations calculated 

using FEMA discharge data and 2006 USGS stage-discharge 

ratings at each gage were then assigned to cross sections coinciding with the gage location. Water-surface elevations were 

assigned to cross sections between gages by linear interpolation between cross sections at gage locations.
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 17

789.5

787.5

785.5

783.5

781.5

779.5

777.5

775.5

EXPLANATION

Simulated water-surface elevation,

 in feet (ft) above NGVD 29

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

High-water mark location

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

Unnamed

Unnamed

med Unna

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 

U.S. 71 Highway

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Gregory

Boulevard

Boulevard

Estimated, 788.9 ft

Simulated, 788.8 ft

Measured, 781.6 ft

Simulated, 781.6 ft

Measured, 775.8 ft

Simulated, 775.8 ft

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the North American

Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 8. Simulated water-surface elevation and high-water marks for the flood of May 15, 1990.
18 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

6.5

6.0

5.5

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

EXPLANATION

Simulated velocity magnitude,

 in feet per second

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

tributary

Unnamed

tributary

Unnamed

med Unna

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at

 U.S. 71 Highway

Gregory

Boulevard

Boulevard

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 9. Simulated velocity magnitude for the flood of May 19, 2004.
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 19

33.0

30.0

27.0

24.0

21.0

18.0

15.0

12.0

9.0

6.0

3.0

0

EXPLANATION

Simulated water depth, in feet

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

Gregory

Boulevard

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at

U.S. 71 Highway

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Boulevard

Unnamed

Unnamed

Unnamed

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 10. Simulated water depth for the flood of May 19, 2004. 
20 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

7.5

6.0

4.5

3.0

1.5

0

EXPLANATION

Simulated velocity magnitude,

 in feet per second

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

tributary

Gregory

Unnamed

Unnamed

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory Boulevard

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at

U.S. 71 Highway

Boulevard

Unnamed

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 11. Simulated velocity magnitude for the flood of May 15, 1990.
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 21

48.0

44.0

40.0

36.0

32.0

28.0

24.0

20.0

16.0

12.0

8.0

4.0

0

EXPLANATION

Simulated water depth, in feet

Two-dimensional model boundary

Bridge pier

ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated 

 Local Evaluation in Real Time)

med Unna

tributary

tributary

tributary

tributary

63rd Street

Crest Drive

Oldham Road

U.S. 71 Highway

87th Street

HickmanMills Drive

Gregory

Gregory

Unnamed

Unnamed

Boulevard

Boulevard

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at 63rd Street

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT Gage at

U.S. 71 Highway

Unnamed

94°33' 94°32'30" 94°32' 94°31'30" 94°31'

39°00'30"

39°

38°59'30"

38°59'

38°58'30"

0 1,000 2,000 FEET

0 200 400 600 METERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information referenced to the 

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Figure 12. Simulated water depth for the flood of May 15, 1990.
22 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 23 Dyke BranchIndian Creek Blue River Blue River #* #* #* #* #* #* Kansas City, Missouri ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway Kansas City, Missouri ALERT gage at 63rd Street U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gage at 103rd Street (06893400) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gage at Kansas City (Bannister Road) (06893500) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gage at Blue Ridge Boulevard (06893150) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gage at Kenneth Road (06893100) #* 94°30' 94°32' 94°34' 94°36' 94°38' 39° 38°58' 38°56' 38°54' 38°52' EXPLANATION Two-dimensional model reach (FESWMS, Finite Element Surface-Water Modeling System) Cross section Streamflow or ALERT gage (ALERT, Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time) 0 1 2 0.5 MILES 0 1 2 0.5 KILOMETERS Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006 Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15 Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Location of cross sections used for flood-inundation area interpolation and the area of the FESWMS model used to create flood-inundation Figure 13. surfaces.
24 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Table 5. Simulated rating depicting water-surface elevation 

at the 63rd Street Bridge and discharge as boundary conditions 

for developed flood inundation results in the two-dimensional 

model reach.

[ft, feet; ft3/s, cubic feet per second]

Simulated rating

Water-surface elevation

(ft)

Discharge

(ft3

/s)

763.8 14,000

765.8 17,000

767.8 20,300

769.8 23,000

771.8 26,320

773.8 29,000

775.8 33,700

777.8 37,630

779.8 41,920

781.8 48,100

783.8 56,670

785.8 71,600

787.8 92,000

Flood profiles of Indian Creek between the KansasMissouri border and the mouth were developed from FEMA 

flood-frequency stage-discharge relations (Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, 1990) and stage-discharge ratings at the 

USGS streamflow gage at 103rd Street. To ensure the consistency of Blue River and Indian Creek water-surface elevation, 

the two-dimensional model-derived discharge at Hickman 

Mills Drive was used to assign an equivalent discharge from 

the FEMA discharge data to the gage at 103rd Street for each 

flood-inundation map. Water-surface elevations were assigned 

to cross sections between the 103rd Street gage and the Indian 

Creek mouth by linear interpolation. 

Flood-profile slopes of Dyke Branch between the KansasMissouri border and its mouth were developed from water-surface elevations calculated using water-surface elevation slopes 

derived from FEMA flood-frequency stage-discharge relations 

(Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1990). To ensure 

consistency of Dyke Branch and Indian Creek water-surface 

elevation, the water-surface elevation of Indian Creek at the 

Dyke Branch mouth was used as a starting point. Mapped 

flood water-surface elevations of other small tributaries to the 

Blue River in the study area were set equal to the flood watersurface elevations of the Blue River at their mouths for all 

Blue River water-surface elevations. 

The calculated water-surface elevation profiles and 

source of slope data for the Blue River from the USGS gage at 

Kenneth Road to 63rd Street, Indian Creek from the KansasMissouri border to the mouth, and Dyke Branch from the 

Kansas-Missouri border to the mouth for all flood-inundation 

maps are shown on figure 14 and listed in table 6.

For the lower Blue River flood-inundation maps (Kelly 

and Rydlund, 2006), a Blue River NWS water-surface elevation of 750 ft (NGVD 29) at Blue Parkway was used as the 

base elevation for generation of all flood-inundation maps. To 

ensure flood-inundation maps previously developed for the 

lower Blue River are consistent with flood-inundation maps 

developed for the upper Blue River, the water-surface elevation at 63rd Street, where the flood-inundation maps intersect, 

are the same for both sets of maps. Thirteen maps were produced at 2-ft water-surface elevation intervals from 763.8 to 

787.8 ft at 63rd Street to approximate the range of river stages 

from the 2- to 500-year flood frequencies (table 7). Water-surface elevations and gage heights for historical crests are listed 

in table 8 (National Weather Service, 2007). Water-surface 

elevations and gage heights for mapped floods at gage and 

forecast locations within the study area are listed in table 9. 

Two-dimensional model results, boundaries of the study 

area and model reach, and cross sections of equal water-surface elevation were input into a geographic information system 

(GIS) software program used to interpolate water-surface 

elevations between cross sections for each flood profile to 

produce flood-inundation surfaces. The resulting surface was 

converted to a raster data set representing the flood-inundation 

surface using square cells 5 ft on a side. 

Land-surface elevations from 2001 with updates from 

2004, provided by the city of Kansas City, Missouri, included 

the latest modifications to the Blue River channel and were 

converted to a raster data set representing land surface using 

square cells 5 ft on a side. Elevations of all bridges that span 

the Blue River and Indian Creek and major roadways on the 

flood plains of the Blue River and Indian Creek were incorporated into the land-surface elevation data. Flood-inundation 

maps were created by subtracting the land-surface elevation 

from the water-surface elevation for each flood surface. The 

positive values in the resulting raster data set indicate the 

extent of flood inundation and the depth of water. The 5-ft 

horizontal resolution of each flood-inundation raster data set is 

the same as the flood-inundation surface and the land surface.

Some areas within the study area are protected by levees, 

flood walls, or embankments. The techniques used to generate 

the flood-inundation maps identified these protected areas as 

being inundated, although they are protected from flooding as 

long as Blue River water-surface elevation is below the top of 

the levee or flood wall. An onsite field survey was conducted 

to determine if these areas were open to flooding from the 

Blue River at water-surface elevations below the tops of the 

levee, flood wall, or embankment protecting the area. Areas 

were inspected for culverts, pipes, or other openings that 

would allow water to enter the protected area. Protected areas 

are indicated on the flood-inundation maps as areas that are 

lower than the selected water-surface elevation, but are inside 

a levee or flood wall that is higher than the water-surface 

elevation for the selected flood. Unprotected areas are indi-
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 25

787.8785.8783.8781.8779.8777.8775.8773.8771.8769.8767.8765.8763.8

Cross sectionGage location

EXPLANATION

Water-surface elevation  at 63rd Street, in feet  above NGVD 29

Blue River

760780800820840860880900

12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

River Mile

ELEVATION, IN FEET ABOVE NGVD 29

Data from calibrated Finite Element Surface-Water 

Modeling System (FESWMS) model, 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Data from Federal Emergency Management Agency (1990, 2002)

flood-frequency discharges and 2006 stage-discharge ratings at

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gages 

Kenneth Road

Blue RidgeBoulevard

Bannister Road

U.S. 71

Highway

 63rdStreet

Dyke Branch

780790800810820830840850860870

0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

River Mile

Data from Federal Emergency Management Agency

1990 flood frequency stage-discharge relations 

Wornall Road

Holmes Road Mouth

Indian Creek

780790800810820830840850

0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

River Mile

LEVATION, IN FEET ABOVE NGVD 29E

103rd Street

Wornall  Road Holmes

 Road Mouth

Data from Federal Emergency Management Agency (1990, 2002)

flood-frequency discharges and 2006 stage-discharge ratings at

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow gages 

Figure 14. Calculated Blue River slopes, water-surface elevations, cross sections, and sources of data for flood-inundation maps.
26 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08 Table 6. River mile and calculated Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch water-surface elevation data for flood-inundation maps.—Continued [NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; Blvd, Boulevard; Hwy, Highway] Water-surface elevation, in feet (NGVD 29) Gage or major bridge River mile Plate 2.1 Plate 2.2 Plate 2.3 Plate 2.4 Plate 2.5 Plate 2.6 Plate 2.7 Plate 2.8 Plate 2.9 Plate 2.10 Plate 2.11 Plate 2.12 Plate 2.13 Blue River 63rd Street 12.71 763.80 765.80 767.80 769.80 771.80 773.80 775.80 777.80 779.80 781.80 783.80 785.80 787.80 13.30 765.54 767.54 769.53 771.56 773.55 775.57 777.55 779.56 781.56 783.54 785.55 787.56 789.55 Gregory Blvd 15.02 770.68 772.66 774.64 776.68 778.69 780.72 782.70 784.71 786.71 788.69 790.70 792.71 794.70 16.08 773.69 775.59 777.49 779.40 781.25 783.05 784.80 786.56 788.30 790.11 792.06 794.26 796.52 17.17 776.79 778.61 780.43 782.19 783.89 785.44 786.96 788.46 789.94 791.57 793.46 795.85 798.39 U.S. 71 Hwy 18.28 779.94 781.68 783.42 785.03 786.57 787.88 789.16 790.40 791.62 793.06 794.88 797.47 800.30 18.87 781.60 783.49 785.37 787.08 788.72 790.23 791.70 793.28 794.86 796.62 798.55 800.72 803.03 Kansas City 19.72 784.00 786.09 788.19 790.03 791.81 793.61 795.36 797.42 799.54 801.76 803.83 805.41 806.97 (Bannister Road) 20.04 785.59 788.58 791.57 793.15 794.62 796.42 798.17 800.19 802.26 804.38 806.43 808.06 809.60 20.94 788.78 790.77 792.77 794.17 795.53 797.33 799.09 801.10 803.14 805.24 807.28 808.93 810.46 21.54 791.13 793.08 795.03 796.20 797.36 799.16 800.92 802.91 804.92 806.94 808.98 810.66 812.18 22.26 793.95 795.84 797.73 798.64 799.55 801.36 803.13 805.07 807.05 809.00 811.01 812.74 814.24 23.04 797.00 798.83 800.67 801.29 801.92 803.74 805.51 807.42 809.35 811.22 813.22 814.99 816.47 24.33 808.76 810.57 812.39 813.07 813.75 815.60 817.41 819.35 821.31 823.19 825.20 827.00 828.50 25.15 816.23 818.04 819.85 820.55 821.27 823.14 824.97 826.93 828.91 830.80 832.82 834.64 836.14 25.80 822.15 823.95 825.76 826.49 827.23 829.12 830.97 832.94 834.93 836.83 838.86 840.69 842.21 26.30 826.71 828.50 830.30 831.05 831.82 833.72 835.58 837.57 839.57 841.47 843.51 845.34 846.87 Blue Ridge Blvd 27.17 834.63 836.42 838.21 838.99 839.80 841.72 843.61 845.61 847.63 849.54 851.59 853.44 854.98 28.01 840.21 841.89 843.56 844.27 845.00 846.73 848.42 850.23 852.04 853.78 855.67 857.45 858.98 28.98 846.65 848.20 849.74 850.37 851.00 852.51 853.98 855.55 857.14 858.67 860.37 862.08 863.60 29.99 853.35 854.77 856.18 856.72 857.26 858.53 859.76 861.10 862.44 863.76 865.27 866.90 868.41 31.13 860.92 862.18 863.44 863.89 864.32 865.32 866.30 867.36 868.43 869.51 870.79 872.34 873.84 31.68 864.57 865.76 866.95 867.34 867.72 868.59 869.45 870.38 871.32 872.28 873.46 874.96 876.46 Kenneth Road 33.30 875.33 876.30 877.27 877.53 877.75 878.25 878.73 879.27 879.83 880.45 881.32 882.69 884.17 33.64 875.33 876.30 877.27 877.53 877.75 878.25 878.73 879.27 879.83 880.45 881.32 882.69 884.17
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 27

Table 6. River mile and calculated Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch water-surface elevation data for flood-inundation maps.—Continued[NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; Blvd, Boulevard; Hwy, Highway]

Water-surface elevation, 

in feet (NGVD 29)

Gage or River Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate

major bridge mile 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13

Indian Creek

0.00 784.99 787.64 790.29 791.96 793.55 795.35 797.11 799.14 801.22 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60

.37 784.99 787.64 790.29 791.96 793.55 795.35 797.11 799.14 801.22 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60.49 784.99 787.64 790.29 791.96 793.55 795.35 797.11 799.14 801.22 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60.73 786.15 788.24 790.33 791.96 793.55 795.35 797.11 799.14 801.22 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60

1.14 788.84 790.93 793.01 794.81 796.50 797.76 798.99 800.27 801.56 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.601.43 791.84 793.93 796.01 797.81 799.49 800.64 801.76 802.93 804.11 806.59 809.08 809.73 810.35

Holmes Road 1.54 792.84 794.93 797.01 798.81 800.48 801.52 802.53 803.59 804.66 807.80 811.57 813.50 815.35

1.62 794.34 796.43 798.51 800.31 801.99 803.14 804.26 805.43 806.61 809.33 812.45 814.06 815.602.09 798.84 800.93 803.01 804.81 806.46 807.28 808.08 808.91 809.75 811.86 814.32 815.61 816.85

Wornall Road 2.40 806.84 808.93 811.01 812.81 814.46 815.28 816.08 816.91 817.75 819.39 821.08 821.73 822.35

2.76 810.84 812.93 815.01 816.81 818.46 819.28 820.08 820.91 821.75 822.92 824.08 824.73 825.35

103rd Street 2.90 812.84 814.93 817.01 818.81 820.46 821.28 822.08 822.91 823.75 826.33 829.81 832.38 834.85

3.14 819.84 821.93 824.01 825.81 827.44 828.04 828.62 829.23 829.85 832.09 834.46 834.79 835.10

Dyke Branch

0.00 787.50 789.58 791.67 793.39 795.03 796.55 798.05 799.71 801.39 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60

.10 787.50 789.58 791.67 793.39 795.03 796.55 798.05 799.71 801.39 803.39 805.44 807.05 808.60

Holmes Road .35 788.92 790.32 791.72 793.39 795.03 796.62 798.17 799.79 801.42 803.39 805.45 807.06 808.60

.40 791.17 791.95 792.72 794.42 796.12 797.46 798.78 800.15 801.52 803.39 805.45 807.06 808.60.72 804.90 806.29 807.68 809.42 811.05 811.60 812.14 812.70 813.26 813.74 814.25 814.89 815.50.86 810.90 812.29 813.68 815.42 817.04 817.48 817.91 818.36 818.81 819.24 819.87 820.83 821.75

1.10 815.61 816.90 818.19 819.92 821.53 821.86 822.18 822.52 822.86 823.24 823.87 824.83 825.75

Wornall Road 1.32 823.13 823.89 824.64 825.87 827.06 827.72 828.37 829.04 829.72 831.41 835.08 840.52 845.75

1.38 825.32 826.51 827.69 829.42 831.09 832.08 833.05 834.06 835.07 835.74 837.47 841.31 845.751.67 834.02 834.39 834.75 836.42 838.04 838.48 838.91 839.36 839.81 840.47 841.25 841.89 845.751.83 837.17 837.95 838.72 840.42 842.06 842.72 843.37 844.04 844.72 845.47 846.74 848.66 850.50
28 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Table 7. Flood frequency, discharge, and watersurface elevations at 63rd Street.

[ft3/s, cubic feet per second; ft, foot]

Water-surface 

Flood Discharge elevation

frequency (ft3

/s) (ft)

2 year 13,200 763.05

5 year 20,300 767.93

10 year 26,320 771.60

20 year 34,000 776.20

50 year 44,500 780.64

100 year 53,690 783.06

200 year 62,000 784.55

500 year 74,720 786.17

cated as inundated. Thirteen Blue River flood-inundation maps 

are shown on maps 2.1 through 2.13 in appendix 2 (at the back 

of this report).

The Blue River flood-inundation surfaces used for 

maps in this report correspond to hypothetical surfaces that 

represent the peak stage of a selected flood for all locations 

in the study reach. Consequently, these maps do not depict 

water-surface elevations that occur at a point in time, but 

a surface of inundation caused by a flood peak that occurs 

at different locations at different times. Also, the floodinundation maps are based on uniform increments of watersurface elevation and not on changes of discharge. Therefore, one map will not likely represent flood inundation for 

the entire study area caused by a single flood. Rather, flood 

inundation for a single flood event is represented using 

inundation maps that cover areas near individual gages or 

forecast locations.

The study area was divided into nine regions that correspond to the six forecast or stream-gage locations on the Blue 

River (fig. 15). Each region is divided into equal-sized square 

sections (4,000 ft on a side) that correspond to the square sections shown on flood inundation maps in appendix 2. Three 

regions are associated with two stream gage locations because 

the extent of flood inundation for those regions is equally valid 

for data from either stream gage location.

Table 8. Water-surface elevations and gage heights of historical crests for National Weather Service forecast locations 

for flood inundation on the Blue River.

[ft, feet; NWS, National Weather Service; datum National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; *, indirectly measured or estimated]

Gage height

Water-surface elevation (ft above gage 

Forecast or streamflow gage location Date (ft) datum)

Blue River at 63rd Street *5/15/1990 775.9 54.12

Data collection began June 1998 *9/13/1961 774.7 52.92

NWS Datum = 721.78 ft *11/17/1928 772.9 51.12

*7/10/1993 771.7 49.92

*5/16/1995 771.6 49.82

Blue River at U.S. 71 Highway *9/13/1961 788.7 65.75

Data collection began April 1998 *5/15/1990 788.1 65.15

NWS Datum = 722.9 ft *6/9/1984 786.1 63.15

Blue River at Kansas City (Bannister Road) 9/13/1961 798.2 44.46

Data collection began November 1928 5/15/1990 794.3 40.64

NWS Datum = 753.7 ft 11/17/1928 792.7 39.00

7/11/1951 792.0 38.30

7/31/1958 791.5 37.80

6/9/1984 791.0 37.30

4/23/1944 789.6 35.88

9/13/1977 788.4 34.74

Blue River at Blue Ridge Boulevard *9/13/1961 844.5 44.50

Data collection began December 2002 *1/1/1958 839.5 39.50

NWS Datum = 800.0 ft 5/19/2004 839.0 39.03

3/5/2003 838.6 38.55
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 29

Table 9. Equivalent water-surface elevations and gage heights for stream gages and National Weather Service forecast locations for flood-inundation maps on the Blue River and Indian Creek.[ft, feet; NWS, National Weather Service; datum National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; bold water-surface elevation indicates gage height is above National Weather Service flood stage]

Gage or flood-forecast location

Blue River Indian Creek

63rd Street 

NWS forecast location

(stage-only gage)

U.S. 71 Highway

NWS forecast location

(stage-only gage)

Kansas City

at Bannister Road

NWS forecast location

(streamflow gage)

Blue Ridge Boulevard

NWS forecast location

(streamflow gage)

Kenneth Road

(streamflow gage)

103rd Street 

(streamflow gage)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height

(ft above 

NWS gage 

datum of 

721.78)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height

(ft above 

NWS gage 

datum of 

722.9)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height

(ft above 

NWS gage 

datum of 

753.7)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height 

(ft above 

NWS gage 

datum of 

800.0)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height (ft 

above NWS 

gage datum 

of 858.36)

Watersurface 

elevation 

(ft)

Gage 

height (ft 

above NWS 

gage datum 

of 722.57)

763.8 42.0 779.9 57.0 784.0 30.3 834.6 34.6 875.3 17.0 812.8 90.3

765.8 44.0 781.7 58.8 786.1 32.4 836.4 36.4 876.3 17.9 814.9 92.4

767.8 46.0 783.4 60.5 788.2 34.5 838.2 38.2 877.3 18.9 817.0 94.4

769.8 48.0 785.0 62.1 790.0 36.3 839.0 39.0 877.5 19.2 818.8 96.2

771.8 50.0 786.6 63.7 791.8 38.1 839.8 39.8 877.8 19.4 820.5 97.9

773.8 52.0 787.9 65.0 793.6 39.9 841.7 41.7 878.2 19.9 821.3 98.7

775.8 54.0 789.2 66.3 795.4 41.7 843.6 43.6 878.7 20.4 822.1 99.5

777.8 56.0 790.4 67.5 797.4 43.7 845.6 45.6 879.3 20.9 822.9 100.3

779.8 58.0 791.6 68.7 799.5 45.8 847.6 47.6 879.8 21.5 823.8 101.2

781.8 60.0 793.1 70.2 801.8 48.1 849.5 49.5 880.4 22.1 826.3 103.8

783.8 62.0 794.9 72.0 803.8 50.1 851.6 51.6 881.3 23.0 829.8 107.2

785.8 64.0 797.5 74.6 805.4 51.7 853.4 53.4 882.7 24.3 832.4 109.8

787.8 66.0 800.3 77.4 807.0 53.3 855.0 55.0 884.2 25.8 834.9 112.3
30 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Blue 

River

Figure 15. Regions and sections of Blue River flood-inundation maps associated with each forecast or gage location.

#*

#*

#

#*

#*

#*

*

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT gage at U.S. 71 Highway

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage 

at 103rd Street

(06893400)

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage at

Blue Ridge Boulevard

(06893150)

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage at Kansas City

(Bannister Road)

(06893500)

Kansas City, Missouri

ALERT gage at 63rd Street

U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow gage at

Kenneth Road

(06893100)

EXPLANATION

Flood map regions

Gage

63rd Street

63rd Street or U.S. 71 Highway

U.S. 71 Highway

U.S. 71 Highway or Bannister Road

Bannister Road

Blue Ridge Boulevard

Kenneth Road

103rd Street

103rd Street or Bannister Road

#* Streamflow or ALERT gage

 (ALERT, Automated Local Evaluation 

 in Real Time)

94°36' 94°34' 94°32'

39°

38°58'

38°56'

38°54'

38°52'

0 0.5 1 2 MILES

0 0.5 1 2 KILOMETERS

Base from National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2006

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 15

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Blue River

Dyke Branch

Indian Creek

Figure 15. Regions and sections of Blue River flood-inundation maps associated with each forecast or gage location.
Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping 31

Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping Benefits 

and Limitations

The estimated flood-inundation maps created during this 

study are an important tool for public officials and residents 

to minimize flood deaths and damage in the flood plain of 

the lower Blue River in Kansas City, and supplement information collected by the metropolitan Kansas City flood-alert 

system. Availability on the World Wide Web of estimated 

flood-inundation maps and near real-time river-stage data 

permits users to view near real-time stage information and 

select inundation maps for current flood conditions, forecasted peak stage, or other selected river stages. Forecast 

inundation maps permit people in flood-affected areas to 

know where unsafe driving conditions are or might be, and 

to warn neighbors who do not have access to a computer or 

the World Wide Web. Local emergency management personnel can use inundation maps that correspond to a forecast 

peak to determine threatened areas, identify road closures, 

and take appropriate actions to warn residents and property 

owners. The maps will help the public, business owners, and 

the media to give warnings of property and roads threatened 

by floodwater, help in rescue operations during a flood, and 

may help save lives. Federal, State, and local emergency 

management teams can more efficiently conduct damage 

assessments and provide public information concerning flood 

insurance, acquisition of property, and applications for hazard mitigation grants (Studley, 2003).

In addition to information related to location and water 

depth of inundated areas, the two-dimensional modeling 

results provide velocity magnitude and direction throughout 

the model reach along the Blue River between Hickman Mills 

Drive and 63rd Street. Such hydraulic details can be used to 

assess potential channel improvements or flooding effects on 

landforms and structures in the flood plain.

Although there are substantial benefits to flood-inundation maps, correct map interpretation depends on understanding the limitations and the error associated with the data used 

to construct the maps. Data used to construct the floodinundation maps include topographic data, two-dimensional 

hydraulic model results, measured high-water marks, and 

interpolated water-surface elevations. Small tributary flooding and local runoff can cause inundation not depicted on the 

maps.

Flood-inundation maps show inundation for the downstream reaches of some minor tributaries of the Blue River. 

Flood inundation indicated for these tributaries is from 

flooding on the Blue River. When flooding occurs on these 

tributaries, as well as on the Blue River, the flood inundation along and from these tributaries could be higher than the 

estimated flood inundation from the Blue River. Inundation 

maps in this report also assume open channels with no blockages from log jams or other debris. Flood inundation can be 

greater upstream from the obstructions. Flooding usually is 

associated with large amounts of local rainfall. Inundation 

from direct rainfall of some small areas within the Blue River 

flood plain may occur from small tributaries before flood 

peaks on the Blue River arrive. Flood-inundation maps in 

this report represent only flooding caused by the Blue River 

and Indian Creek.

Topographic data provided by the city of Kansas City is 

vertically accurate to plus or minus 1 ft (one-half the contour 

interval of 2 ft). Depth of flood inundation was calculated by 

subtracting land-surface elevation from water-surface elevation 

for each flood inundation map. For areas that are flat or have 

a small slope, a 1-ft increase or decrease in flood depth may 

result in a large increase or decrease in inundated area.

Hydraulic models are approximations of actual streamflow, and simulated discharge and water-surface elevations typically deviate from reality. Good measurements of 

discharge are within 5 percent of the actual discharge, and 

hydraulic model results calibrated to measured discharge are 

subject to the limitations of those measurements. As stated 

in the model calibration section, the two-dimensional model 

results were within about 0.2 ft of high-water marks for the 

study reach; however, error also is associated with the use of 

high-water marks collected after a flood. These marks are indicated by the elevation of the line of sediment or mud-coated 

surfaces or the location of deposits of floating material that 

were left behind as floodwater receded. They approximate 

the maximum elevation of the flood surface, but are not exact 

because of wave action, multiple peaks, or peaks from local 

tributaries. 

During flood conditions when water flows at a high 

velocity, ramping may occur as water flows over submerged 

structures. This can raise the flood surface above what an 

interpolated surface indicates over small areas near submerged 

structures. Ramping can occur over small areas where water 

flows over submerged road beds, bridge decks, or other large 

features. In areas where flow is constricted, such as bridges 

or other structures with small openings, actual water-surface 

elevations may differ from interpolated water-surface elevations on inundation maps over small areas near the constriction. Upstream from these structures, the actual water-surface 

elevation may be higher than the interpolated surface; downstream the water-surface elevation may be lower. The amount 

of error is variable and depends on water velocity and the size 

of the constriction.

Errors and variations in data rarely occur in only one 

direction. The chance that the flood inundation data for any 

one point is based on the maximum possible error is small 

because the errors are unlikely to be all positive or all negative 

with respect to the actual value. A combination of errors of 

varying value and sign is more likely to occur. To account for 

errors, the user should inspect not only the maps that represent 

the gage location and stage of interest, but also maps for values of stage that are both greater than and less than the stage 

of interest.
32 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

Blue River Estimated Flood-Inundation Maps on 

the World Wide Web

To provide public access to the information presented 

in this report, a World Wide Web site (http://mo.water.usgs.

gov/indep/kelly/blueriver/index.htm) was created that displays 

the results of two-dimensional modeling between Hickman 

Mills Drive and 63rd Street, flood-inundation maps, and the 

latest gage heights and NWS stage forecast for each forecast 

location within the study area. In addition, the full text of this 

report, tables, and maps are available for download. The Web 

site URL is http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5068.

The main page of the Blue River Flood Inundation 

Website contains a map of the forecast locations and a table 

that lists current stages for gages on the Blue River, the Missouri River gage at Kansas City, and NWS forecast peak 

stage, if available. The user can select one of the forecast or 

gage locations from the table to access the web page specific 

to that location. Each forecast or gage location web page has 

a graph depicting the most recent stage observations for that 

location, a locator map with the region highlighted for which 

the gage data are valid, and a drop-down menu used to select 

a particular water-surface elevation of interest. Once the 

water-surface elevation is selected, the flood inundation map 

of the region for the flood-forecast location appears. The user 

can view flood-inundation maps of the region for other stages 

of interest by selecting a new stage from a drop down menu. 

Each region is divided into sections to allow closer inspection 

of inundated areas. The user can click on a section to access 

a more detailed view of the flood inundation map within that 

section. The current section appears and also is outlined on a 

small locator map. The user can navigate to adjacent sections 

within the region for which the gage data are valid at that stage 

by clicking on the desired section on the locator map. The user 

can view flood-inundation maps of the section for other stages 

of interest by selecting a new stage from a drop down menu. 

To access flood-inundation maps for another region, the user 

can click on the main flood-inundation page link at the bottom 

of the page and select another region. 

Summary

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, completed a study 

in 2007 to determine the extent and character of inundation in 

the Blue River valley from flooding in the Blue River. A website was created that associates real-time flow data and floodinundation maps on the lower Blue River from the mouth 

upstream to Gregory Boulevard. A two-dimensional model 

was applied to a hydraulically complex, 2-mile length of the 

Blue River centered on the reach between 63rd Street and the 

mouth of Brush Creek to provide information about the performance of existing hydraulic structures, channel conditions, 

and areal distribution of water velocity for the estimated floodinundation maps on the Web. The second phase of the project, 

described in this report, began in 2006 and addresses the part 

of the Blue River from 63rd Street upstream to the USGS gage 

at Kenneth Road, Indian Creek from its mouth to the KansasMissouri border, and Dyke Branch, a tributary of Indian 

Creek. The second phase expands the Website to include stage 

information and flood-inundation maps from the USGS gage 

at Kenneth Road to 63rd Street and a detailed two-dimensional 

hydraulic simulation of the reach between Hickman Mills 

Drive and 63rd Street that provides maps of flood-inundation 

extent, flood-plain water velocity, flow direction, and depths 

for existing flood-plain developments for a range of stages. 

These products spatially integrate information provided by 

USGS gages, Kansas City Automated Local Evaluation in 

Real Time (ALERT) gages, and the National Weather Service 

(NWS) flood-peak prediction service that comprise the Blue 

River flood-alert system, and are a valuable tool for public 

officials and residents to minimize flood deaths and damage in 

Kansas City. 

Much of the lower Blue River flood plain is covered by 

industrial development. The Blue River and Indian Creek 

basins also are the location of large parks and recreational 

development. Bicycle, pedestrian, and equestrian trails exist 

or are planned for the entire length of both streams. Rapid 

development in the upper end of the basin has likely increased 

the volume of runoff, and thus the discharge of flood events 

for the Blue River. The NWS issues peak-stage forecasts at 

four gage locations in the study area during high water. The 

small drainage areas of the Blue River and Indian Creek basins 

cause rapid flooding and allow minimal time for flood forecasting and response. 

Water-surface elevations between Hickman Mills Drive 

and 63rd Street were determined using the two-dimensional 

flow modeling. A depth-averaged flow model Finite Element 

Surface-Water Modeling System (FESWMS) Flo2DH was 

used to simulate steady-state flood flows within this 5.6-mile 

hydraulically complex reach of the Blue River. The twodimensional model was used to prepare maps of water velocity, flow direction, depth, and inundation extent in the model 

reach. These model outputs also can be useful in designing 

potential channel and flood-plain improvements throughout 

the simulated reach.

Upstream from Hickman Mills Drive, water-surface 

elevations at each gage or forecast location were extrapolated 

across the flood plain along cross-section lines oriented perpendicular to the downstream direction of the Blue River flood 

plain. Flood-profiles were developed from water-surface elevations using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

flood frequency discharges and 2006 stage-discharge ratings at 

USGS streamflow gages. Flood-profile slopes of Indian Creek 

between the Kansas-Missouri border and the mouth were 

developed from water-surface elevations calculated using current stage-discharge ratings at the USGS streamflow gage at 

103rd Street and water-surface elevations derived from FEMA 

flood-frequency stage-discharge relations. Flood-profile slopes 

of Dyke Branch between the Kansas-Missouri border and the 
References Cited 33

mouth were developed from water-surface elevations calculated using water-surface elevation slopes derived from FEMA 

flood-frequency stage-discharge relations. Mapped flood 

water-surface elevations of other small tributaries to the Blue 

River in the study area were set equal to the flood water-surface elevations of the Blue River at their mouths for all Blue 

River water-surface elevations. Thirteen maps were produced 

at 2-ft water-surface elevation intervals from 763.8 to 787.8 ft 

at 63rd Street to approximate the range of river stages from the 

2- to 500-year flood frequencies. 

The flood-inundation maps created during this study are 

an important tool for public officials and residents to minimize flood deaths and damage in the flood plain of the upper 

Blue River and Indian Creek in Kansas City and supplement 

information collected by the metropolitan Kansas City floodalert system. Data used to construct the flood-inundation maps 

include topographic data, two-dimensional hydraulic model 

results, stage-discharge ratings at streamflow gages, measured 

high-water marks, and interpolated water-surface elevations. 

To provide public access to the information presented in 

this report, a World Wide Web site (http://mo.water.usgs.gov/

indep/kelly/blueriver/index.htm) was created that displays the 

results of two-dimensional modeling between Hickman Mills 

Drive and 63rd Street, flood-inundation maps, real-time gage 

heights, and NWS stage forecast for each forecast location 

within the study area. In addition, the full text of this report, 

tables, and maps are available for download at URL http://

pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5068.

References Cited

Arcement, G.J., Jr., and Schneider, V.R., 1989, Guide for 

selecting Manning’s roughness coefficients for natural channels and floodplains: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 2339, 38 p.

Barnes, H.H., Jr., 1967, Roughness characteristics on natural channels: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 

1849, 213 p.

Becker, L.D., and Alexander, T.W., 1983, Floods in Kansas 

City, Missouri and vicinity, August 12–13, 1982: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigation Report 

83–4141, 35 p.

Chow, V.T., 1959, Open-channel hydraulics: St. Louis, Missouri., McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 678 p.

City of Kansas City, Department of Public Works, 1917, 

Seventy-First Street bridge over the Blue River: City of 

Kansas City, Mo.

Environmental Modeling Research Laboratory, 1999, Surfacewater modeling system reference manual, version 8.0: 

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 315 p.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1990, Flood insurance study, City of Kansas City, Missouri, Clay, Platte, and 

Jackson counties. 84 p., 78 panels.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2002, Flood insurance study, Johnson County Kansas and incorporated areas. 

67 p., 127 panels.

Froehlich, D.C., 2002, Two-dimensional depth-averaged flow 

and sediment transport model—Users manual for FESWMS 

Flo2DH: Federal Highway Administration, FHWARD-03-053, 203 p.

Hauth, L.D., and Carswell, W.J., 1978, Floods in Kansas City, 

Missouri and Kansas, September 12–13, 1977: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations 78–63, 36 p.

Huizinga, R.J., 2007, Two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling and analysis of the proposed channel modifications and 

grade control structure on the Blue River near Byram’s Ford 

Industrial Park, Kansas City, Missouri: U.S. Geological 

Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5098, 45 p.

Huizinga, R.J., and Rydlund, P.H., Jr., 2001, Simulation of 

flow and evaluation of bridge scour at Horse Island Chute 

Bridge near Chester, Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 2001–4176, 28 p.

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inundation mapping for the Lower Blue River in Kansas 

City, Missouri, 2003–05: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

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Missouri Department of Transportation, 1988a, Bridge over 

Manchester Trafficway, Blue River, Burlington Northern 

Railroad and Blue River Road: Jefferson City, Missouri 

State Highway Department, Project No. DE-0031 (803), 

RTE. 71 (N.B.L), Bridge No. A-2733.

Missouri Department of Transportation, 1988b, Bridge over 

Manchester Trafficway, Blue River, Burlington Northern 

Railroad and Blue River Road: Jefferson City, Missouri 

State Highway Department, Project No. DE-0031 (803), 

RTE. 71 (S.B.L), Bridge No. A-2745.

Missouri Department of Transportation, 1988c, Bridge over 

Missouri Pacific and Burlington Northern Railroads: Jefferson City, Missouri State Highway Department, Project No. 

DE-0031 (803), RTE. 71 (N.B.L), Bridge No. A-4739.

Missouri Department of Transportation, 1988d, Bridge over 

Missouri Pacific and Burlington Northern railroads: Jefferson City, Missouri State Highway Department, Project No. 

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration, 1977, 

Kansas City flash flood of September 12–13, 1977: Natural 

Disaster Survey Report 77–2, 49 p.
34 Estimated Flood-Inundation Mapping for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek, and Dyke Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, 2006-08

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2003, 

Climatological data annual summary, Missouri: Asheville, 

North Carolina, National Climate Data Center, v. 107, 

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crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/glance.php?wfo=eax&riverid=203454

&view=1,1,1,1,1,1.

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Publishing support provided by: 

Rolla Publishing Service Center 

For more information concerning this publication, contact:

Director, USGS Missouri Water Science Center

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

(573) 308–3667

Or visit the Missouri Water Science Center Web site at:

http://mo.water.usgs.gov
 35
Kelly and Huizinga—Estimated Flood Inundation for the Upper Blue River, Indian Creek , and Dyke Branch —Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5068

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