Floodplain Management

Change is a constant of rivers and floodplains. Understanding river processes is necessary to manage floodwaters. Rivers have physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Climate affects rivers by producing the water and sediment that streams transport, and climate change portends major changes to some river systems. The biology of plant and animal systems has a major effect on water quantity and quality. Human activity throughout a watershed, especially on floodplains, can disrupt natural processes and make flooding worse. It is generally much less expensive to preserve natural processes than it is to recreate their lost functions. Working with, not against, a river’s natural characteristics is generally the most cost-efficient and least disruptive course of action.

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