The Illinois Valley Flood Resiliency Alliance (IVFRA) working group was formed in IL State Senate District 38 following flooding in 2013. The goal of the cohesive and ‘disaster ready’ alliance is to provide expertise in flood risk management to a five-county area of Illinois River communities. Through enhanced collaboration, communication, training, education and mitigation, the alliance aims to serve as an example for other regions looking for combined flood risk management efforts.

As part of a Silver Jackets project partnership, the steps, resources and benefits gathered during the development of the IVFRA were captured by the Corps. The resulting ready-to-share presentation has been used to initiate one new alliance (IL State Senate District 37) and two more alliances in formation (Quad Cities Flood Alliance and East Central Illinois - West Central Indiana Flood Alliance) as of January 2019. The total area impacted by Flood Zone Alliances to-date is shown in the map below. The steps identified for forming a Flood Zone Alliance include outreach to potential alliance communities, setting strategies and strategy and goal implementation. For more information on how to form a Flood Zone Alliance in your area contact at MVR.SilverJackets@usace.army.mil.

Benefits of Flood Zone Alliances

The Flood Zone Alliances have produced measurable benefits for member communities and the surrounding area. These benefits include: 
 1. Capacity building and improved communication for flood event preparedness and response
 2. Cumulative losses are avoided by the communities through mitigation planning 
 3. Clear goals, collaboration, communication and planning have brought federal grant money to flood zone alliance communities