25 June 2008

Don't Blame It on the Rain

Last week the WSJ reported that as the Mississippi river rises, a debate is storming between scientists, environmentalists and housing developers over whether irresponsible development is the cause of all the recent flooding. Due to the high demand for waterfront real estate, developers of new and expanding communities often push for new, taller, and stronger levees. But by building along the riverbanks and forcing the Mississippi into a bed that’s less than half the width it was 100 years ago, developers are forcing the river to run faster and higher.

Also, as the developers pave over and drain off nearby low lying wetlands, additional runoff water is channeled into the river. Critics say the result is a self-perpetuating cycle: Levees are built; wetlands are drained; the rivers rise higher, new levees are built even bigger; and the rivers rise again. Add in a little spring rainfall and disaster ensues.

At the center of the problem is the lack of a comprehensive river-management plan. Each levee along the Mississippi is under local control. “Each levee has a small impact, but cumulatively they can have a large impact," said David Busse, chief of engineering and construction for the St. Louis District of the Army Corps of Engineers. "From an engineering point of view, it would be great to look at the system as a system."

Can anyone say “Duh”…???

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