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Strategies in Solving Floods

Floods are the single most common natural disaster in the United States. They comprise 40-percent of all natural disasters worldwide. Flash flooding is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. -- approximately 200 deaths per year. Though large scale engineering projects can be of value in controlling flooding, efforts in environmental conservation and smaller scale projects can also be of value.

Large Engineering Projects
- Large scale engineering projects such as building dams or dam networks, help control flooding.
  
  Engineering projects such as the building of dams to regulate water flow, can be a significant deterrent to flooding. The United States and Canada embarked on a joint venture for the purpose of controlling flooding from the Columbia River in 1948 and signed the Columbia River Treaty. The construction of Mica, Keenleyside and Duncan dams in Canada and Libby Dam in the United States successfully controlled flooding in those regions. The flood control storage totals 37 million acre-feet (45.7 billion cubic meters).
  
  While properly planned construction of dams can control flooding, effectiveness is limited to the extent that soil conservation and maintenance of over-sedimentation is implemented. Further, building of dams in some places can result in conflicts with environmental goals and regulations.
Small-scale Projects
- The development of small-scale water storage infrastructure can help to deter flooding. Small-scale water storage options and flood control can be more flexible and less costly to implement, according to Dr. Vladimir Smakhtin of the international Global Water Partnership and the JWMI International Water Management Institute. Examples include improving drainage and land accretion (growth or accumulation), and education in better water conservation.
  
  Additionally, by transferring property and water rights to participants in conservation flood control efforts, a sense of responsibility and empowerment is engendered, which helps to gain cooperation with locals.
Soil Conservation
- Flooding can be reduced by educating and regulating land use of local populations.
  
  Efforts in flood prevention also include educating local populations in soil conservation. In an article entitled, "The downstream benefits of soil conservation in third world hydroelectric watersheds," conservationist Robert Mack states in the magazine Land Economics, that many governments "are increasingly more interested in reducing soil erosion from land upstream from where water resource development is intense." The result can be more soil retention and less flooding in low-lying areas.
  
  The stripping of mountainsides of trees and overgrazing results in soil loss and less water retention. The end result is more flooding. By preventing overgrazing and overuse of vulnerable areas, and by preventing the denuding of trees from areas which are essential to water retention, flooding can be avoided.

Nature