2025 Buildings and systems awards
The 2025 ACEC/Iowa Engineering Excellence Awards winning projects in the Transportation Category: Firm: Stanley Consultants The only one of its kind in the US, and one of only three facilities of its kind in the world, the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) serves as the heart of the water sensor monitoring network that oversees US waterways. It monitors streamflow, groundwater, water quality and other water resource features important to all Americans that rely on water. This facility is owned and operated by the United States Geological Society (USGS), whose mission is to provide reliable scientific data about our nation's water resources. The new 8.8-acre home on the University of Alabama campus starts a new chapter for the HIF facility, which originated in 1970 and was previously housed at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. A team of about 50 USGS employees will work alongside university students and staff, strengthening existing partnerships and creating new ones as the HIF continues its tradition as the national hub for water monitoring technologies. The HIF has national responsibility for the design, testing, evaluation, repair, calibration, warehousing and distribution of hydrologic instrumentation. The facility is a hub for coordination, innovation and training in water science and technology, supporting water monitoring efforts nationwide for near real-time water monitoring and research. Training at the HIF supports the development of a USGS workforce ready to take on new water challenges. The two-story 95,000 square feet facility includes: • A 32,000-square-foot hydraulics lab contains: 350-feet-long tow tank and carriage capable of traveling up to 18 feet per second, providing a national watervelocity standard for calibrating field instrumentation. 230-foot-long tilting flume capable of 50 cubic feet per second for simulating river and stream processes. 100-feet by 24-feet test basin, wind tunnel, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler tank that measures water current speeds across the water column with sound, and a wave generator with proprietary technology developed in Edinburgh, Scotland. Groundwater demonstration wells (from 85 to 200 feet deep) for testing and calibrating groundwater measuring instruments Field testing facilities • Three training rooms, including wet chemistry and electronics configurations • Large environmental testing chamber ranging in temperature from –40 degrees F to 160 degrees F Laboratories and shops for testing, developing and repairing hydrologic instrumentation • Innovation lab that includes 3D printers of PLA, metal, and resin • Paint booth and welding area An 11,000 square foot warehouse A 150-person auditorium space Environmental chambers and sensor innovation space Tornado shelter Administrative areas A state-of-the-art Network Operations Center The Network Operations Center provides a space to monitor and respond to water events. During major flood events, real-time data from USGS monitoring stations, supported by HIF's instruments, are used to inform emergency response and evacuation plans. Similarly, during periods of drought, this data helps manage water resources to ensure supply for critical needs while collecting long-term data to help understand and anticipate future water levels.
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American Council of Engineering Companies Of Iowa (ACEC-IA)
1080 Jordan Creek Parkway, Suite 106C, West Des Moines, IA 50266
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