The 2004 Lower Minnesota River Floodplain Study is a joint effort of the United States Geological Survey, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District. Upon appropriate review, the information contained in this report may be used as "Best Available Data" until the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) produces new Flood Insurance Study (FIS) maps of the affected communities.

The flood plain starts at the confluence of the Minnesota River with the Mississippi and proceeds 36 miles upriver.

In 2018, Freshwater conducted a study of sedimentation deposition in the floodplain lakes of the lower Minnesota River valley to see if the rate if sedimentation accumulation is related to changes in land use upstream.  The resulting report can be viewed by following the link below.

• Sediment Accumulation in the Floodplain Lakes of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed
• The Minnesota River is Growing - Altered hydrology in the MN River Basin