CEDAR FALLS -- No magic wand or puff of fairy dust will wash away the state's problems after record flooding this year.

The Rebuild Iowa Commission finished its statewide tour Tuesday in Cedar Falls and discussion at that meeting indicated tough decisions will need to be made to deal with future disasters.

The commission will meet again next week to finalize recommendations it will advance on to the governor, Legislature and the Rebuild Iowa office.

The commission, established by Gov. Chet Culver, began meeting in mid-July to come up with answers to problems caused by the devastating May tornado and flooding that followed in June.

After holding public input sessions and tours of damaged areas around the state, commissioners have seen a population itching to get things back to normal.

"The immediate reaction is to want to put everything back the way it was, and that's not always the best way for the long term," said Carroll Reasoner, a commissioner from Cedar Rapids.

The commission includes nine task forces, three of which presented reports Tuesday. The floodplain and hazard mitigation report sparked the most discussion.

Bill Bywater, the task force leader, said his group determined regional coordination and work throughout a watershed will be necessary for planning for future flood problems.

Some of the tough choices ahead will involve levee repairs or enhancements, flood buyouts and policies on rebuilding in flood plains.

Culver found examples of mitigation efforts since 1993 that helped prevent damage this year. He also noted that some fixes recommended back then were never done, and communities are paying for them now.

In coming months and years, Culver feels governments small and large will have to decide how much money is committed to preventing further damages.

"I think it ultimately has boiled down to cost, too," Culver said. "It really does come down to some really tough choices on a local level."

One of the issues the state needs to address is better mapping of the flood plains. Culver has requested money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for high-tech flood mapping. He's also requested other federal funds for disaster mitigation. He hopes to convince Congress it would be a good investment, saying if the estimated $1 billion in damages from June floods could be reduced to $350 million in a like event in the future, it would save money.

"That's the point we're trying to make to Congress is it's penny wise to fund this," Culver said.

Dave Miller, administrator for the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, saw places where mitigation efforts went for naught in the record floods of 2008. He said decisions will have to be made on how much protection is reasonable.

"What I heard today was we did improve our levees, we did help this area, the question is how high do we build our levees, how far do we go?" Miller said.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.