And communities keep building on flood plains, which not only puts new
development at risk but also reduces the amount of flood plain available to
absorb floodwater.
"Communities" build new housing tracts with suburban tract malls? Say what?
Oh, I forgot. Im in the same class as the politicians and capitalists behind
the building boom in Sacramento, a city seriously at-risk of Katrina-like
flooding.
Seth Sandronsky
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:31:08 -0400
From: Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Pen-l] Development led to flooding
To: PEN-L list <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/06/17/why-flooding-worsens/
Why flooding worsens
Development, farm practices, and population growth have increased the
risk of flooding.
By Richard Mertens | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor /
June 17, 2008 edition
Chicago
Up and down the flood-ravaged river valleys of the upper Midwest, high water
has inflicted billions of dollars of damage to homes, businesses, and crops. It
has displaced tens of thousands of families and brought immeasurable suffering.
It has also brought a new concern for the regions river towns and cities:
Flooding in the Midwest seems to be getting worse.
Researchers and other observers say such episodes are likely to worsen as
efforts to protect vulnerable communities are outpaced by factors that increase
the risk of flooding, including the ongoing practice of building on river flood
plains.
Were probably more at risk than weve ever been, says Larry Larson,
executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, based in
Madison, Wis.
Most cities and towns in the Midwest lie along rivers and streams.
Hydrologists and planners say that the cumulative effects of decades of
land-use choices have gradually increased the likelihood of flooding.
Throughout Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, for example, much farmland is drained
by buried tiles that carry rainwater quickly away from the fields into streams
and rivers. Population growth, bringing new highways and subdivisions,
increases runoff. And communities keep building on flood plains, which not only
puts new development at risk but also reduces the amount of flood plain
available to absorb floodwater.
In many communities, levees protect low-lying neighborhoods and farmland.
America has had a love affair with levees since the 1800s, says Marceto
Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of
Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. But levees cause new problems by confining rivers
and increasing flooding in other stretches.
(clip)
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