Flood-inundation geospatial datasets for 14.8 miles of the Little and Big Papillion Creeks in Omaha, Nebraska, 2023

Digital flood-inundation map libraries for two reaches that comprise 14.8 miles of the Little and Big Papillion Creeks in Omaha, Nebraska were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Program website at https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/flood-inunda…, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgages Little Papillion Creek at Irvington, Nebr. (station 06610750), Little Papillion Creek at Ak-Sar-Ben at Omaha, Nebr. (station 06610765), and Big Papillion Creek at Q Street at Omaha, Nebr. (station 06610770). Near-real-time stages at these streamgages may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System database at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN or from the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at https://water.weather.gov/ahps/. Flood profiles were computed using hydraulic models for two different stream reaches that comprised 14.8 miles of stream length of the Little and Big Papillion Creeks in Omaha. The models were calibrated by adjusting roughness coefficients to best represent the current (2022) stage-streamflow relation at the streamgages within the study reach. The hydraulic models were then used to compute water-surface profiles at 1-foot (ft) stage intervals at selected stage ranges to represent various flooding scenarios at the streamgages in the reach. The simulated water-surface profiles then were combined using a geographic information system with a digital elevation model, which had a 10-ft grid to delineate the area flooded and water depths at each stage. Along with the inundated area maps, polygon shapefiles of areas behind the levees were created to display the uncertainty of these areas if a levee breach were to occur. These 'areas of uncertainty' files have '_breach' appended to the file names in the data release. The availability of these maps, along with information regarding current stage from USGS streamgages, will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.