If we had a billion dollars...
... what would we do with it?
There are floodplain reconnection success stories across the nation. However, these projects tend to be small in scale and few and far between. With nearly 29,000 miles of levees in the U.S., we need to generate projects of meaningful scale to open up enough floodplain to make a difference when flooding rains come -- and come they will!
Our response to this challenge comes in three steps: 1) Identify; 2) Collaborate; 3) Reconnect.
Identify
Ask the Army Corps of Engineers, NRCS, or state/county/local emergency management officials where flooding is happening and they'll know. First responders know too - they have to deal with flooding disasters when they strike. FEMA and private insurance companies that spend billions annually on flood damage claims also know. Those directly impacted by floods - farms and communities - know better than anyone. We need to collaborate among all of these constituents to standardize flood risk assessments and prioritize areas that would benefit most from floodplain reconnection. Identifying flood-prone areas needs to be done proactively, not reactively after a major flooding disaster. Only in that way can dollars be prioritized, allocated, and spent methodically to improve floodwater capacity over time.
Collaborate
Sound assessments will yield priority areas for floodplain reconnection. However, dedicating new land to the floodplain means working hand-in-hand with property owners and community leaders to manage the process methodically and sensitively. For many, this is not just a piece of dirt -- this is their long-time homestead or multigenerational family farm. We need to bring all of the stakeholders along together, including the funders that can make the process economic for all involved. Property acquisitions may be straightforward purchases of land and buildings or they might employ more creative strategies such as conservation easements. Collaboration and flexibility are key.
Reconnect
Once acquired lands are in hand, it's time to permanently reconnect the floodplain by removing and/or setting back levees to let floodwaters spread out as they once did. Reconnected floodplains, which have likely been in agricultural or other uses for decades, may need restoration to kickstart long-dormant ecological processes. Reconnected floodplain areas would not be locked off from public uses. On the contrary, these large areas will be ideal for ecological, agricultural, and recreational uses. Restored recreational areas also attract local economic development to these areas. Floodplains Forever is dedicated to making floodplains productive in every sense of the word.
One Size Does Not Fit All
It would be great if reconnection projects were as "simple" as removing a levee and letting the water flow. But that direct reconnection is not always possible, and we as an organization have to be adaptable and opportunistic in reaching our goal of adding floodplain capacity. Simpler alternatives are available, such as notching existing levees to allow some water to reach lowlands behind levees under certain conditions. Another method is to relocate a levee away from the waterway by erecting a new "setback" levee that opens up floodplain in between. Over long stretches of river, that can have a huge impact. For example, a revised frontline levee between the New Madrid Floodway and the Mississippi River in Missouri would create 44,000 acres of new floodplain capacity that is currently cut off from the River.