Army Corps of Engineers “managing” wetlands
In a guest editorial published in the March-April issue of Ground Water, hydrologists in Louisiana suggest adoption of evolving management plans that recognize engineering, economic and hydrologic realities is key to sustainable development of the Louisiana coastline.
Authors Richard F. Keim and William J. Blanford state that historical hydrological management of the Mississippi River and its delta is partially responsible for the increased vulnerability of coastal infrastructure and culture, and effectiveness of levees can be improved by combining wetland restoration and flood-protection efforts synergistically into a single effort. Hence, construction of a “category 5” levee, which is proposed by some, is not a substitute for wetland protection.
Keim and Blanford hope that engineering solutions can be found to preserve and enhance natural processes to sustain wetlands, with levees used only to protect concentrated, high-value infrastructure. “To maintain the integrity of those wetlands, with all of their ecological, economic and cultural importance, will require active hydrological management,” add Keim and Blanford. “Including ecosystem restoration in flood control planning is necessary.”
Asking politicians to act upon reality may be a stretch. Opportunism is a tradition that’s hard to reform — especially when it comes to tax dollars.
I’m sure these farmers will love having their lands flooded. This is one reason why Gore isn’t president. Missourians weren’t too happy about the plans to rerout the Missouri River.
The wetlands referred to above are what people often call swamps, marshes, or bayous. They’re not farmland. When the floodwaters from a storm can move into unprotected areas like swamps, the areas protected behind levees (cities and industrial areas) are less likely to flood, because the floodwaters don’t rise as high.
There are some advantages of having bottomland flooded occasionally–silt from upstream gets deposited on the farmland, and enriches the soil. Yes, a farmer’s crop may get wiped out in the process, but crops in the following years will yield more.
Its simple, you either protect the wetlands or we lose the Mississippi delta. Since New Orleans is in the delta, surrounded by wetlands, do the math. If we don’t protect the wetlands, New Orleans will be completely underwater in 80 years or so.