Flooding

A participant in a “Gross Gathering” organized by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) in Chatham, a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Photo by CNT.
Flooding is maybe the most obvious manifestation of the destructive power of water. Large floods can change history, and even localized floods can do significant damage to the people and communities affected. And floods are getting worse: climate change is increasing the intensity of rain events and hurricanes; development patterns are putting more people in harm’s way; and increasing imperviousness in our cities means more stormwater runoff.
But floods can also bring many benefits to ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them. We need to learn to live better with water in order to gain these benefits while minimizing the risk of damage.
The solutions have to happen at various scales: small bioswales to absorb urban stormwater; setback levees to give rivers room to flood; insurance and planning systems that encourage people to live in safer areas.
Resources to Understand Flooding
For an overview of flooding and flood management (especially on large rivers), see Chapter 7.
For urban stormwater flooding, see Chapter 15.
For flood-related photos, visit the Photo Gallery.
Flooding in the News
Promises Betrayed: Trump and the Inflation Reduction Act
Donald Trump's antipathy towards the Inflation Reduction Act - Biden's signature energy/climate legislation - is well known. But it is worth spending a few minutes reading about how Trump's illegal cuts to IRA funding are creating harm on the ground in two of our most...
The Uncertain Future of the Columbia River Treaty
"A Crucial River Treaty is Tangled in Trump's Feud With Canada," The New York Times (gift link) The Columbia River Treaty is an example of the benefits that cooperative management of international river basins can bring. The treaty, in place since 1964, allowed for...
Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Louisiana
“Fighting Louisiana Floodwaters With Patches of Green,” New York Times (gift link) Bioswales and other green stormwater infrastructure can provide multiple benefits, including flood mitigation, water-quality improvement, heat mitigation, and groundwater recharge (less...
Environmental Flows and the Belo Monte Dam
“On a Dammed River, Amazon Villagers Fight to Restore the Flow,” Yale E360. The construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River has devastated the ecology and indigenous communities of the “Volta Grande” (Big Bend); those communities are trying to force...
The First Step in India’s River Linking Project
February 2025: "Why a mega river-linking plan has sparked massive protests in India," BBC. India's long-planned "river interlinking project" would create new dams and aqueducts throughout the country to move water from rivers that are judged to have "excess" water...