In the wake of recent flooding, a national river conservation group has called for greater use of flood control alternatives, including wider use of flood-tolerant crops and voluntary relocation of vulnerable homes and businesses.
"We need to consider new ways to protect people and property," said Scott Faber, director of floodplain programs for American Rivers. "How we respond to this flood will determine the costs of the next flood. Now is the time to rethink our strategies for coping with these disasters."
Flood-tolerant crops and voluntary relocation have gained wider acceptance since the Great Flood of 1993, when more than 10,000 homes and businesses were voluntarily relocated by federal programs. A White House task force created after the Great Flood called for less reliance on levees and dams, which often encourage floodplain development, and wider use of non-structural alternatives like voluntary relocation and land acquisition.
"Our ability to use riverside lands has changed, and we need to consider new ways of contending with high water," said Todd Lein, a Minnesota farmer demonstrating flood-tolerant crops for American Rivers. "Farmers are looking for real choices, and right now the only choice many have is between losing money and selling their land."
American Rivers is conducting a study, to be completed in the fall of 1997, which will calculate the economic and environmental benefits of flood-tolerant crops in the Minnesota River floodplain.
"Despite spending more than $30 billion on levees and dams, losses associated with high water continue to increase," Faber said. National property losses associated with flooding have increased from $1.5 billion in 1951 to nearly $4 billion, Faber said. "Structural solutions will continue to be appropriate in some cases, but we need to use a wider range of tools if we're going to prevent these kinds of tragedies in the future."
For more information, contact Scott Faber, American Rivers, (202)547-6900, ext. 3015.