We are pleased to see that Davenport’s model of creating a river edge that receives floods, rather than attempts to control them with walls, is cited as an example of the way forward throughout the Mississippi River Basin. Our work in Davenport beginning in 2003 has helped establish a floodable riverfront park that allows the waters to spread out and slow down – thereby decreasing velocity and helping to alleviate downstream problems, as well as creating an open space amenity along the river and preserving views to the river from the city. As the article says:
Instead of relying on hard barriers that hold back the torrent and increase pressure on the system, it [Davenport] depends on its riverfront parkland and marsh to act as a release valve…“Building a floodwall, a solid-structure floodwall pushes problems downriver,” says Mayor Frank Klipsch, where the growing volume of water overwhelms the next town—and beyond.
And the example is catching on:
Mayor Klipsch is determined to keep an open riverfront and expand natural storage along the river. He’s not alone. The Mississippi was still well above flood stage in Iowa when he and the mayors of 89 other river communities released a statement calling for more natural infrastructure in response to the ongoing disaster.
…“In years past, if you wanted to stay mayor, you couldn’t talk about anything but a floodwall or a levee,” says Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, an association of 90 mayors. “Times have changed.”
Indeed, times have changed and if we want to respond to the growing numbers of storms and floods as our globe heats up and climate changes, we must look to solutions that work with natural systems rather than trying to control them. Landscape architects can lead the way to creating public amenities such as riverfront parks, wetlands and natural areas that are as much flood management infrastructure as open space destinations.
Read More:
Audubon: A Better Way to Decrease Disastrous Flooding on the Mississippi River